Golden Knights defeat Sabres, break another record

BUFFALO -- The Vegas Golden Knights broke the NHL record for most road wins by a first-season team with a 2-1 shootout victory against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Saturday.
Deryk Engelland scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for the Golden Knights (44-19-5), who passed the 1993-94 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim with their 20th road win. Vegas leads the San Jose Sharks by 12 points for first place in the Pacific Division.

"It was huge for us," Engelland said. "It's been right from Day One we've tried to play that way (hard on the road). It wasn't pretty tonight, but we got the win somehow. Our goalie stood on his head for most of the night and you've got to grind some out that way. But we've got to keep the same thing and not look too far ahead of us."
WATCH: [All Golden Knights vs. Sabres highlights]
Erik Haula scored the deciding goal, and Fleury allowed one goal on five shots in the shootout. Fleury's win was the 399th of his NHL career.
"[Fleury] was great. He was the key for us getting the chance to have some opportunity to win that hockey game today," Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. "So, he's definitely a big part of our group and he probably won us a hockey game today, for sure."
Justin Bailey scored, and Robin Lehner made 33 saves for the Sabres (22-35-12), who have lost two of their past three games.

"When you look at our lineup versus their lineup, I think our guys are doing a terrific job, guys that are stepping in," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "But we had an opportunity to close that game out with 4-1/2 minutes to go, and those are areas we have to learn as we move forward. It's a simple battle and we can't lose inside position."
Bailey gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 2:47 of the third period after he received a pass from Benoit Pouliot, deked, and scored from in front with a backhand.
Bailey was recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Friday and played in place of right wing Kyle Okposo, who is out indefinitely with a concussion.
"Any time you can help your teammates against a good team like that it's a good feeling," Bailey said. "It's been a season of ups and downs this year, so it was definitely good to get one today."
Engelland tied it 1-1 at 15:46 after his wraparound attempt deflected off Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella into the net.
"I was just trying to hold onto the puck more or less," Engelland said. "[Lehner] poked it and it stayed on my stick so I was just trying to get to the net. I saw [William] Karlsson there and tried to pass it to him, but [Scandella] dove and it ends up going off of him."

Goal of the game

Haula's goal in the shootout.

Save of the game

Fleury's save on Rasmus Ristolainen at 16:00 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Engelland's goal at 15:46 of the third period.

They said it

"It's been the whole thing, that's all it's about. Trade deadline, not trade deadline, whatever it is, injuries, we just keep rolling and we try to do that anyway. That's the mentality of our coaches, of our management, to go day by day, and I really think it is why we're finding ways to keep having success. It starts with them, and we have a great organization and a great organization to be proud of." -- Golden Knights forward David Perron
"I think the guys played a [heck] of a hockey game today. I think we played well against one of the better teams. I think they played well too. It's a 1-1 game, we lost in a shootout. That's the unfortunate part, but there was a lot of good things in today's game." -- Sabres goalie Robin Lehner

Need to know

Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt returned to the lineup after missing four games with an undisclosed injury. … Ryan O'Reilly won 27 face-offs, two shy of the Sabres record he set Feb. 11 against the Colorado Avalanche.

What's next

Golden Knights: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday (7 p.m. ET; SN, NBCSP, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)
Sabres: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TSN4, NHL.TV)