Marchessault, Golden Knights defeat Senators in shootout

LAS VEGAS -- Anders Nilsson made an NHL career-high 52 saves for the Ottawa Senators, but Jonathan Marchessault's goal in the fifth round of the shootout gave the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 win at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Reilly Smith scored for the third consecutive game and Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves for the Golden Knights (5-3-0).
"We stayed with it," Marchessault said. "I think we were the most dominating team out there, and we earned the right to get those two points."
WATCH: [All Senators vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Thomas Chabot and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored, and Connor Brown had two assists for the Senators (1-5-0).
"It felt kind of like an old playoff game," Nilsson said. "Obviously we knew it was going to be a good atmosphere. Vegas has a good team and they came pretty hard at us, but I think we stood up pretty good and we were prepared for a battle."
Mark Stone had an assist, his 200th in the NHL, in his first game against the Senators since being traded to Vegas on Feb. 25 for defenseman Erik Brannstrom, forward Oscar Lindberg and a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
"I'm happy for it to be done with," Stone said. "It'll be normal now, just a normal game. I don't know how everyone else takes it, but it is awkward a little bit, especially in a place where you enjoyed playing. A lot of close friends I'll always be friends with. It was tough in that sense, but once the game gets going, it's a hockey game. We're hockey players and we just play a normal game."

Smith gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the first period before Chabot tied it 1-1 at 5:12.
Nick Holden gave Vegas a 2-1 lead with one second remaining on a power play at 13:32 on a shot that deflected off Brady Tkachuk's stick.
Pageau scored at 4:25 of the third period to tie it 2-2.
"That's a really good team. They're fast, they're physical, and I really liked our guys' effort," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "I thought we stood up to them. Our goalie was outstanding. But we had our chances as well, and their goalie was outstanding. It's a tough building to get points in. We got one, we'd like two."
Brandon Pirri (first round) and Shea Theodore (fourth) scored in the shootout for Vegas. Vladislav Namestnikov (second) and Tyler Ennis (fourth) scored for Ottawa.

They said it

"We knew it's a hard building to come into and get points. We got one point, but everyone likes to win, and I think everyone wanted to have that extra point and get two points instead of one." -- Senators goalie Anders Nilsson
"Our consistency has not been great at the beginning of the season here, and we have to find a way to be consistent night after night. It's a hard road trip ahead of us. We're facing three really good teams, so obviously it's good to get the confidence of a win here."-- Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault

Need to know

Nilsson's previous career-high was 48 saves for the Edmonton Oilers against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 13, 2015. … Senators forward Colin White played his 100th NHL game. … The Senators are the only team in the NHL this season without a power-play goal. They went 0-for-4 on Thursday and are 0-for-21 in six games. …. Stone has a point in seven of eight games this season. He leads Vegas with 11 points (five goals, six assists). … Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty played his 700th game in the NHL. … Gerard Gallant coached his 500th NHL game. He is 251-200-45, with four ties, and 99-59-14 with Vegas.

What's next

Senators: At the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN360, CITY, TVAS, FS-A, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights: At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)