Hall extends point streak to 18, but Devils lose to Golden Knights

NEWARK, N.J. -- Taylor Hall extended his point streak to 18 games, but the New Jersey Devils lost 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights at Prudential Center on Sunday.
David Perron had a goal and an assist, Deryk Engelland and Tomas Tatar scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves for the Golden Knights (42-18-5, 89 points), who ended a three-game losing streak and lead the San Jose Sharks by 10 points for first place in the Pacific Division.

"I thought it was really good effort," Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. "I thought we came out of the gate really good in the first five minutes. We played a consistent, focused game."
\[WATCH: All Golden Knights vs. Devils highlights\]
Fleury made nine saves in the third period, including a one-timer from Kyle Palmieri with one second remaining and the Devils on the power play.

"If there is one guy you want taking a one-timer with a couple of seconds left it's [Palmieri]," Hall said. "I guess that Fleury made some big saves. He's a guy who will challenge you and really force you to pick a corner. He's having a great year, so you have to tip your cap sometimes."
Hall had a goal and an assist, and Cory Schneider made 24 saves for the Devils (33-25-8, 74 points), who have lost three straight. New Jersey leads the Columbus Blue Jackets by three points for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Hall has 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) during his streak, the longest in the NHL this season. He also extended his personal point streak to 25 games (18 goals, 18 assists); he missed three games from Jan. 22-25 with a thumb injury.
Engelland gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead off a slap shot from the right circle that beat Schneider over his left shoulder at 11:17 of the second period.

Tatar, who was acquired by the Golden Knights in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 26, made it 3-1 when he scored his first goal for Vegas off a rebound on the power play at 17:43.
"It's a big goal after getting traded," Tatar said. "It kind of gets the monkey off the back but the even bigger thing is it helped us win the game."
Perron took the initial shot that handcuffed Schneider.

"I thought it was in my pads there," Schneider said. "I was just trying to get down on it and [Tatar] just speared into the pads and knocked it through. They called it a good goal and we didn't challenge it, so you just have to live with it. I just have to be better securing the puck when it is in my pads."
Hall scored 12 seconds later after gathering a turnover behind Vegas' net and shooting five-hole on Fleury from in front to make it 3-2.
Perron gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 4:39 of the second period.
"To fly across the country on Saturday and get the win tonight was huge for the team," Perron said.
Sami Vatanen tied it 1-1 at 8:44 off a one-timer on the power play.

"It was a good challenge and the guys pulled through," Fleury said. "The Devils have some skilled guys and took some shots from the point, looking for tips and rebounds, but we did a good job."

Goal of the game

Tatar's goal at 17:43 of the second period.

Save of the game

Fleury's save on Palmieri at 19:59 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Hall's goal at 17:55 of the second period.

They said it

"The last time I had a career-high point total my team (Edmonton) was out of the playoff picture by December or January, so you're just playing for pride. It's not as rewarding to score like that when you don't win. So this time, it's a lot of fun to play meaningful games and contribute this late in the season." -- Golden Knights forward David Perron
"It's hockey, so you're going to lose some games. You're going to go through rough patches. No one has gone 82-0. It's a hard League and there is so much parity. What you can control is the process you go through and how your team plays overall. For us, we're looking for those one or two bounces that can push us over the edge. Whether that's luck or desperation, we have to find it." -- Devils forward Taylor Hall

Need to know

The Golden Knights improved to 18-11-3 on the road and are one win from tying the NHL record for most road victories by a team in its inaugural NHL season. The 1993-94 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim went 19-20-3. ... Perron has an NHL career-high 59 points (16 goals, 43 assists) this season. His previous high was 57, with the Edmonton Oilers in 2013-14.

What's next

Golden Knights: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)
Devils:Host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)