Neal boosts Golden Knights past Sharks

SAN JOSE --Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves, and James Neal scored the game-winning goal late in the third period to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Thursday.
Fleury made 15 saves in the first period, when Vegas was outshot 16-4.

WATCH: [All Golden Knights vs. Sharks highlights]
"We came out sleeping a little bit tonight and they dominated the first period," Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. "They played a great first. Obviously, us coming out of that 1-1 was a big break for us. Fleury was a lot to do with that. After that, I thought we played real well the rest of the game and found a way to get two big points."
Fleury earned his 16th win of the season in his 23rd start two days after a 5-4 loss in his first game at the Pittsburgh Penguins following 13 seasons and three Stanley Cup championships (2009, 2016, 2017) with them.
"It was a little easier for this game than it was for Pittsburgh," Fleury said. "Just back to normal."

Jonathan Marchessault had a goal and an assist, and Erik Haula, William Karlsson and Brayden McNabb scored for the Golden Knights (36-14-4, 76 points), who went 4-2-0 on a six-game road trip and lead the Sharks and Calgary Flames by 12 points for first place in the Pacific Division. Colin Miller, David Perron and Reilly Smith each had two assists for Vegas.
Joe Pavelski scored two goals, Timo Meier had a goal and an assist, and Brent Burns had three assists for the Sharks (28-18-8), who lost their second straight game. Martin Jones made 28 saves in his 200th NHL game.
"We didn't play our game for the full 60 minutes," Meier said. "We played in their zone a lot, dominated, but we need to do that for 60 minutes. They were at the end of a road trip, and we have to come out with energy, which we did. It hurts to lose a game like that."
Neal scored from the left face-off circle on a give-and-go with Perron to make it 4-3 with 4:50 remaining.
"I heard [Perron] calling for it behind me," Neal said. "I dropped it off and he made a great play back to me to give me a chance to get off a good shot. I just tried to get it off quick. [Jones] was coming across to cut down the angle on me. I just shot it five-hole."
Marchessault scored into an empty net on a power play for his 20th goal with 1:21 left to make it 5-3.
Pavelski gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead at 7:45 of the third period with his second goal of the game. He took a cross-ice pass from Burns in the left circle and lifted a shot over a diving Fleury on the power play.

McNabb tied it 3-3 at 9:36 when he faked a shot, skated past Burns, and scored from the left circle to the far side.
"It's all reaction," McNabb said. "I was able to get around him and make the shot."
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead at 4:40 of the first period when Pavelski deflected Burns' shot from the left point past Fleury.
"The challenge for us was to maintain it for a little bit longer," Pavelski said. "We needed to come out in the second and be better. The game was right there for us."
Haula scored from the slot on the rebound of a Perron shot at 14:00 to tie it 1-1.
Karlsson scored 37 seconds into the second period from close range on the rebound of a Marchessault shot to put Vegas ahead 2-1. His 29 goals are third in the NHL behind Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (31) and Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins (30).
Meier tied it 2-2 at 11:47 of the second on the power play when Burns' shot deflected off him and into the net.
Sharks forward Joel Ward left the game at 7:43 of the second period with an apparent injury to his right arm after Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt hit him into the half-wall in the Vegas zone.

Goal of the game

Neal's goal at 15:10 of the third period.

Save of the game

Fleury stopping Meier from close range at 15:54 of the third period.

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Highlight of the game

McNabb's goal at 9:36 of the third period.

They said it

"I think our first period wasn't very good at all. We were fortunate to have a tie game going into the second. We knew that. There was a lot of travel the day before (following their game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday). We were flat, and we finally found our game in the second and third." -- Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb
"I loved our first period, but we came out with nothing to show for it. You play like that, you should come out in front. We didn't, and it hurt." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer

Need to know

Vegas is 17-11-2 on the road, two wins behind the 1993-94 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for most by an NHL team in its inaugural season. ... The Golden Knights had a power-play goal for the ninth straight game. ... Perron played his 700th NHL game. ... Pavelski won 15 of 22 face-offs (68 percent).

What's next

Golden Knights: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, NBCSP, NHL.TV)
Sharks: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; SN, SN360, CITY, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)