Devils 8, Golden Knights 3: 3 Takeaways

There's that curse again.
After a sterling 4-1-0 road trip, the Golden Knights returned home and laid an egg in their first game in a lengthy home stretch. The Devils stormed out and scored four goals by the 2:31 mark of the second period, chasing Marc-Andre Fleury en route to a 8-3 victory.
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This is similar to how Vegas dropped a hard decision to Philadelphia a month ago after returning from a 4-2-0 trip, and falls in line with a pattern that many NHL teams have fallen into since long before the Golden Knights were a part of the league.
The Golden Knights play their next three games at home and seven of the next nine.
But first, here are three takeaways from tonight's game.

1. Not Fleury's Night
All season, Marc-Andre Fleury has channeled the sort of performances he regularly displayed a decade ago with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He entered the evening second in the NHL in goals-against average (2.15) and save percentage (.930), and regardless of how the season ends, will have had one of the better seasons of his career.
Tonight was just not his night.
Giving up four goals on 11 shots, Fleury didn't have his best tonight.
And with Maxime Lagace relieving him for most of the game's final two periods, perhaps he'll be well rested and ready to rebound when the Wild roll into town on Friday.
2. Pushback Couldn't Last
After Stefan Noesen's goal made it 4-0 Devils and Lagace came into the game, Vegas mounted a bit of a comeback.
Erik Haula struck for his 26th goal of the season on the power play at 11:08 of the second, and Colin Miller brought Vegas to within two just before the end of the second period.

Entering the third, the Golden knights had a chance.
However, New Jersey's Blake Coleman got his second goal of the game two minutes into the third and the Devils cruised the rest of the way.
3. Devils Wanted It More
Coming off a win in Nashville on Saturday that broke the Predators' 10-game winning streak, the Devils have looked like a team trying to lock in to earn their first playoff berth since 2012.
Vegas, meanwhile, still exits the night with a 10-point lead in the Pacific Division.
Tonight's results were far more urgent for New Jersey and its performance showed it.
For the Golden Knights, however, this is going to be a recurring theme over the next few games.
The Wild come in on Friday and only have a five-point edge on a playoff spot right now. Then the Flames come in on Sunday and they're two points outside of the playoffs.
For Vegas, playing teams that have so much on the line will be a big test. And as the Golden Knights gear up for a probable playoff berth, it'll give them a taste of the sort of games they'll have to win to go on a run.