Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Haula lifts Golden Knights to shootout win in Buffalo

Golden Knights Sabres

AP Photo/Adrian Kraus

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Tomas Nosek (92) tries to get by Buffalo Sabres defenseman Casey Nelson (8) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 10, 2018 in Buffalo, N.Y.

Golden Knights’ forward Erik Haula took a deliberate approach to his shootout attempt Saturday morning in Buffalo.

He slowly closed in on Sabres’ goalie Robin Lehner, then snapped a wrist shot past his glove to give Vegas the 2-1 shootout win.

The Golden Knights’ improved to 3-1 on the current road trip and broke the NHL record for road wins by a team in its inaugural season with 20.

In regulation, Buffalo broke a scoreless tie early in the third period when Justin Bailey deked around Marc-Andre Fleury and guided the puck into the net for his third goal of the season.

The goal broke Fleury’s shutout streak of 131 minutes, 59 seconds dating back to March 6.

Deryk Engelland tied the game for Vegas with 4:14 to play. The veteran curled around the Buffalo goal, then bounced the puck off Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella into the net. Scandella was sliding on the ice to try to break up a pass attempt, but ended up knocking the puck into his own net for Engelland’s fifth goal of the season.

In the shootout, David Perron struck first with a wrist shot that found the top-right corner of the Sabres net. Fleury had a chance to win it in the third round of the shootout, but Buffalo’s Jacob Josefson scored to keep the Sabres alive.

Haula’s goal in the fifth round of the shootout ended it, and extended Vegas’ lead over San Jose in the Pacific Division to 12 points.

The Golden Knights will finish the road trip Monday in Philadelphia before returning home to face the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.