Mark Stone netted two goals, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves. The Vegas Golden Knights cruised to a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.
Shea Theodore, Max Pacioretty, and Alex Tuch also scored for Vegas, which secured its first regulation win over St. Louis in 12 meetings in 2017.
“We had a lot going against us,” said Vegas coach Pete DeBoer. “Six games in 10 nights, being kicked out of our hotel and dealing with false positive COVID-19 tests. Finishing trip 4-2 in some tough buildings is a great result.”
Fleury’s 15th start in the past 16 games for the Golden Knights demonstrates his reliability.
“Back-to-back games are tough for goalies, but Fleury came in and had his best performance of the trip,” said Stone. “That shows the leadership and quality he brings, and it lifts the whole bench.”
Ville Husso made 21 saves for the Blues, taking his first regulation loss since Feb. 6. He remains winless at home with an 0-2 record.
“They’re a good team, but we know we can play with them,” Blues center Brayden Schenn said. “I don’t think we showed that in either of these two games.”
St. Louis, struggling at home with a 4-7-3 record, has been much better on the road, where they hold a 10-2-2 record.
“We need to produce at home,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “We must find a way to execute and score goals consistently here.”
Vegas took the lead early when Theodore scored his fourth goal of the season just 4:01 into the first period. Stone extended the lead with his eighth goal 1:32 into the third period.
The Blues broke Fleury’s shutout bid when Sammy Blais scored his third goal of the season off a feed from Vladimir Tarasenko, who now has four points in four games since returning from shoulder surgery.
Pacioretty gave Vegas a 3-1 lead at the 7:25 mark of the third period, capitalizing on a pass from Chandler Stephenson.
The Blues struggled on the power play, going 0-for-4, including a missed 53-second two-man advantage midway through the third period. St. Louis had entered the game on a six-game power-play goal streak.
“Our focus was on disrupting them,” said Stone. “When we box out and block shots, and Fleury can see the puck, it makes everything easier.”
Stone added his second goal of the game with a wraparound, stretching Vegas’ lead to 4-1 with 7:51 remaining. Tuch sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final 30 seconds.
WINNING THE BATTLES
The Golden Knights remain undefeated when leading at the end of a period. Vegas is now 10-0-0 when leading after the first period and 12-0-0 when leading after two periods.
FIGHT NIGHT
Blues center Dakota Joshua dropped the gloves for his first NHL fight in the first period, taking on Keegan Kolesar after Joshua delivered a big hit on Ryan Reaves. Both players were assessed five-minute fighting majors at the 8:32 mark.
UP NEXT:
- Vegas: Returns home for the first of two games against San Jose on Monday night.
- St. Louis: Kicks off a six-game road trip in Los Angeles on Monday night.
