Stone extends point streak to eight in Golden Knights win against Sharks

LAS VEGAS -- Mark Stone had a goal and an assist to extend his personal point streak to eight games, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-1 at T-Mobile Arena on Monday.

Stone has an NHL-best 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) and five multipoint games in March, which have all come during his streak.
"Tonight wasn't a Picasso. We had a soft start," Stone said. "We were able to buckle down and get things in the right direction."
Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves in his 16th start in 17 games for the Golden Knights (19-6-1), who have won three straight. They will play the Sharks here again Wednesday.
It was Fleury's 481st NHL win, three behind Ed Belfour for fourth in NHL history.
"I kind of expected the start. It looked like we had been on the road for 10 days," Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. "I felt at morning skate our energy was off. I felt it was going to take a little while to work into the game. Thankfully, [Fleury] was our best player in the first and allowed us to get our legs under us."
Timo Meier scored, and Devan Dubnyk made 34 saves for the Sharks (11-12-3), who had their three-game winning streak end.
"I thought there were a lot of good things to take from this game," San Jose coach Bob Boughner said. "Fleury was the difference maker. That's a good team over there, but I thought we did good things and fought hard."
Pacioretty scored for the second consecutive game, on the power play, to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 8:35 of the first period.

Stone scored for the third consecutive game at 1:02 of the third period to increase the lead to 2-0. It was his 10th goal of the season and sixth game-winner.
Fleury made a diving poke-check at 11:35 of the third period on Sharks forward Evander Kane, who had a breakaway after forcing a turnover.
"That was sick," Pacioretty said. "That dude is just the man."
Meier cut it to 2-1 at 14:29, 11 seconds after a Vegas power play ended.
"I felt like I've sharpened some things up," said Dubnyk, who made 16 saves in the second period. "I'm just trying to give the guys the best chance, and hopefully the guys are getting used to me back there."

Since Stone was traded by the Ottawa Senators to Vegas on Feb. 25, 2019, he has scored 107 points (36 goals, 71 assists) in 108 games. He and Pacioretty have combined for 208 points in that span.
"I think we've been able to stick to playing an entire game," Stone said of he and Pacioretty's chemistry. "For courses of a season, you have ups and downs. When you stick to the game plan and let your strengths take over, try not to do much, we're getting looks."
NOTES: Stone's goal was the Golden Knights' 15th in the first two minutes of a period, the most in the NHL. … Pacioretty has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his past nine games. ... Fleury is 481-271-80 with two ties in 867 games with Vegas and the Pittsburgh Penguins. … Golden Knights forward Chandler Stephenson (undisclosed injury) did not play after being a game-time decision. Cody Glass played 16:35 in his place. … Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore has an assist in each of the past four games. … The Golden Knights (13-0-0) have the second-best record in the NHL when leading entering the third period (Tampa Bay Lightning, 15-0-0). … Sharks forward Rudolfs Balcers had one shot on goal and two hits in 13:42 after missing two games with an undisclosed injury.