Gallant, Golden Knights top Panthers

LAS VEGAS -- Erik Haula broke a tie at 11:40 of the third period, and the Vegas Golden Knights won for the sixth time in seven games with a 5-2 victory against the Florida Panthers at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.
It was Vegas coach Gerard Gallant's first game against the Panthers since he was fired as their coach on Nov. 27, 2016.

"No, not really," Gallant said when asked if the game felt any different emotionally. "I just coached another game. It wasn't much fun early when they went up 2-0. I thought it was a sloppy game the first half of the game, and after that I thought we played really well."
WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Golden Knights highlights]
With the win, Vegas (21-9-2) moved into first place in the Pacific Division. The Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings are tied with 44 points, but Vegas has played two fewer games.
"I have no idea what the standings or how many points we have. I don't look at that stuff," Haula said. "It's just day-by-day. We have fun and winning makes everything fun."
Haula redirected Jonathan Marchessault's shot past James Reimer for his 12th goal of the season and extended his point streak to six games.
Colin Miller, Nate Schmidt, Marchessault and James Neal scored for Vegas, which is 13-2-1 at home and outshot Florida 40-18. Malcolm Subban made 16 saves.
"It's great. You always want to beat your old team. Especially for me, (Reilly Smith, Gallant, assistant coach Mike Kelly) ... it's our old team and we wanted to get that win," Marchessault said. "We have a good thing going on right here."
Marchessault scored 30 goals for the Panthers last season and was chosen by the Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft on June 21. Smith was acquired by Vegas in a trade with Florida the same day.

Radim Vrbata and Mike Matheson scored for the Panthers (12-16-5), who lost their third straight and for the sixth time in nine games. Reimer made 35 saves.
"[Vegas] is an honest hockey team," Reimer said. "They come and they work hard and they're honest. There is nothing special to their game. They're just, right now, a group that's working really hard and really well together."
Florida scored twice in the first 5:13 of the game. Vrbata scored his fourth goal of the season at 2:58, and Matheson scored his second at 5:13 to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Schmidt made it 2-1 at 6:39 of the first period, his first goal since Oct. 7. Miller tied the game on a slap shot from the point for his fifth goal of the season at 17:20 of the first.
Marchessault, who had two assists, scored an empty-net goal at 17:50 of the third period to make it 4-2. Neal scored an empty-net goal at 19:32.
"It's like last game for [Marc-Andre Fleury against Pittsburgh]," Marchessault said. "We wanted that win so much for him. I think tonight was the same thing. We wanted this win for (Gallant). It just ended on such a terrible note [in Florida]. I think he's feeling pretty happy right now."

Goal of the game

Miller's goal at 17:20 of the first period.

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Save of the game

Subban's saves against Nick Bjugstad at 2:53 of the second period.

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Highlight of the game

Haula's goal at 11:40 of the third period.

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They said it

"Our third period was probably, obviously, the most disappointing period for me in a long time, maybe the season. I thought that was uncharacteristic of our team. We're usually a team that battles to the end and plays hard win or lose." -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner
"I don't think either team was creating a lot the first two periods. I thought it was a lot of neutral zone play. There wasn't a lot of open-ice play. I wasn't really happy with our play after two. For me, I thought we had a great third period, but for the first two, we were just fair." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant

Need to know

Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland played his 500th NHL game. … Panthers forward Denis Malgin had an assist in his return after missing one game with an upper-body injury.

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What's next

Panthers:At the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET: FS-A, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights:Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SN1, ATTSN-RM, SUN, NHL.TV)