National Hockey League
Vegas 4, NY Islanders 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 20, 2018
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Referees: Steve Kozari, Pierre Lambert
Linesmen: Travis Gawryletz, Darren Gibbs
Attendance: 18226

William Karlsson and Paul Stastny scored goals 63 seconds apart in the third period, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 19 saves to pick up his 424th career victory as the Vegas Golden Knights rallied to defeat the New York Islanders 4-2 on Thursday in Las Vegas.

Fleury moved past Tony Esposito into ninth place on the NHL's all-time wins list with the victory, his league-leading 20th of the season. Nate Schmidt and Brandon Pirri also scored goals for Vegas, which won its sixth consecutive home game.

Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson each scored goals for New York, which had a three-game winning streak snapped. Thomas Greiss had 43 saves for the Islanders.

The Islanders, who lost to the Golden Knights 3-2 in their first meeting on Dec. 12 in Brooklyn, registered just eight shots in the first period but still managed to take a 2-0 lead with goals just 68 seconds apart.

Barzal scored the first one, taking the puck off a faceoff won by Josh Bailey in the left circle and then circling into the slot. He fired a wrist shot through a crowd and past Fleury's glove side for his fifth goal of the season.

Nelson followed with his 12th goal of the season when he roofed a wrist shot from the slot inside the right post.

Pirri cut it to 2-1 midway through the second period with a power-play goal, backhanding a rebound inside the right post for his first of the season and fourth in three career games with the Golden Knights. He was called up Wednesday from the Chicago Wolves, with whom he was leading the AHL in points (41) and assists (24). Pirri was a replacement for Max Pacioretty, who was placed on injured reserve.

Vegas then tied it up early in the third period with a goal by Karlsson, his team-leading 14th of the season, and took the lead when Stastny took a nice crossing feed by Reilly Smith for what proved to be the game-winner.

Greiss went to the bench with 45 seconds left, and Schmidt sealed the win with an empty-netter with 15 seconds to go.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
NY Islanders   Vegas
Mathew Barzal 1 Points Nate Schmidt 3
Mathew Barzal 1 Goals Nate Schmidt 1
Josh Bailey 1 Assists Nate Schmidt 2
N/A Power Play Goals Brandon Pirri 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Thomas Greiss .935 Save Percentage Marc-Andre Fleury .905
Thomas Greiss 43 Saves Marc-Andre Fleury 19
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
NY Islanders 21 2 0-2 1-2 6 30
Vegas 47 4 1-2 2-2 6 30
Upcoming Games
  • Vegas will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .706 after a loss.
  • NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Islanders have a W/L % of .471 after a win and .529 after a loss.