Fleury, Golden Knights defeat Blackhawks in Game 3 of Western First Round

Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Saturday.

William Karlsson and Patrick Brown scored for the top-seeded Golden Knights, who have won six straight games to start the NHL postseason.

Teams with a 3-0 lead are 190-4 (97.9 percent) winning a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series.

Fleury played for the first time since Aug. 6, a 6-4 win against the St. Louis Blues in the round-robin portion of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Robin Lehner started Games 1 and 2 against the Blackhawks.

"I'm not going to lie, I was little nervous and had some butterflies," Fleury said. "I find ways over the years to handle things better than when I was younger. It's still a lot of fun and it's playoff hockey.

"The game meant a lot, and to go up 3-0 was big. I just tried to stop one puck at a time, one shot at a time, and it worked out."

WATCH: [All Golden Knights vs. Blackhawks Game 3 highlights]

Olli Maatta scored, and Corey Crawford made 24 saves for Chicago, the No. 8 seed in the West.

Game 4 is in Edmonton, the Western hub city, on Sunday (6:30 ET; NBCSN, SN360, SN1, NBCSCH, ATTSN-RM).

"We're down three games. Tomorrow's a must-win to stay alive," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "That's the reality, that's the way we look at it. We were working for the bounces, pucks were lying around, we just didn't find the back of the net. Tomorrow, we have to believe that we will."

Karlsson scored a shorthanded goal on a backhand from the right circle to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the first period.

"[Mark Stone] slowed down and gave me space to go, and I knew I had time for a backhand shot," Karlsson said. "I'm happy I put it in. It was a great play (by Stone)."

Brown scored his first NHL playoff goal off a rebound from the slot for a 2-0 lead at 15:23 of the second.

"It's a testament to [Brown's] character," Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. "He's been practicing with the taxi squad, showing up every day, and to be able to jump into a Stanley Cup Playoff game like this and be as effective as he was all night for us is a testament to how hard he works."

Maatta scored on a wrist shot from the left circle to make it 2-1 at 6:21 of the third period.

"We can't be a victim," Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. "We're playing hard, proud of the work ethic. We need to find another level. The time we can feel sorry for ourselves is later on, but now is not the time. We have to be better than them for 60 (minutes) tomorrow and continue to put pucks to the net, find a way to get a couple more greasy rebound goals.

"They've been getting chances in bunches; they get four in one shift or four on a power play, whatever it may be. We have to find a way to limit those."

Fleury, who won the Stanley Cup three times with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2009, 2016, 2017) and helped the Golden Knights reach the Cup Final in their first NHL season (2017-18), said he doesn't look at his relationship with Lehner as a competition for playing time.

"I don't feel I'm (playing) against Robin," Fleury said. "I feel I need to beat the Blackhawks, and that's my focus. I'll do my best to help the team to a win a series. Robin likes to play and I like to play, but it's the coach's decision. It's playoffs and I want to be a good team guy, and all that matters is winning."

Fleury made 20 saves before Maatta's goal. The 35-year-old tied Ken Dryden for sixth place with his 80th NHL playoff win.

"[Fleury] was our best player, and my plan all along was to play both guys in the back-to-back and that's what we did, so it was an easy decision," DeBoer said. "[Fleury] came in and did exactly what we needed him to do and what everyone has come to expect of him, which was give us a fantastic game."

The Golden Knights were without forwards Paul Stastny and Tomas Nosek, each unfit to play. Forward Max Pacioretty, who was unfit to play in Game 2, returned and had one shot on goal in 15:16.

As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.

"I don't believe (the injury to Stastny) is serious and I would call him a potential option tomorrow," DeBoer said. "We'll see when we evaluate him in the morning."

NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report