VANCOUVER -- It was a bend but not break night for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Erik Haula scored early in the third period to break a 2-2 tie as the Golden Knights defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Thursday.

Vegas looked to have control of the game by building a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Canucks stormed back to tie it with a pair of goals in the second.

"We came out strong," said Vegas goaltender Maxime Lagace, who rebounded from an 8-2 loss against Edmonton Tuesday night. "Even when they gained a little momentum we were right back at it.

"It's encouraging to see that. We know what we can do. We know we're dangerous when we play that way and we showed it tonight."

David Perron and William Karlsson each had a goal and an assist for Vegas (11-6-1), which won for only the third time in nine games (3-5-1).

Jonathan Marchessault scored off a Vancouver turnover late in the third period to put the game out of reach, and Reilly Smith added an empty-net goal.

James Neal started the play that put Vegas ahead in the third by stealing the puck from Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson behind the net. He threw the puck in front to Perron, who then made a pretty pass to Haula. He knocked home his sixth of the season at 6:27.

"It's a big game for us," said Perron, who has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in the last six games. "For us it was a big two points and we can keep building on our season.

"We don't want to let it slip away too much."

The Golden Knights managed to stay composed even after the Canucks battled back for the tie.

"We knew we were still in the game," Perron said. "We felt like we gave them chances, but we responded. We got goals and we played the right way."

Lagace finished with 19 saves. Vegas coach Gerard Gallant was happy to see his goaltender recover after a bad night in Edmonton.

"He was great," Gallant said. "He made some key saves. He's got some pride and the other night wasn't fun and he battled back tonight."

Lagace is one of five goaltenders Vegas has been forced to use because of injuries.

"It's part of my job to come back after a performance where you probably wanted to have two or three goals back," he said. "It was good.

"The guys played awesome in front of me, kept the work pretty limited in the second and third. That's a team win."

Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks (9-8-2).

It was the third straight game the Canucks trailed by two early. They lost 5-0 to San Jose on Saturday and were down 2-0 against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday before winning 3-2.

"Our starts aren't good enough," Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said. "We had a bad start to the third. After they scored, they picked the game up a little bit. We weren't able to answer. Tonight, we had a bad start and a bad finish."

Vancouver managed only five shots in the third period. The Canucks' defense was also guilty of breakdowns on all four Vegas goals.

"We weren't great the whole game, to be honest," said head coach Travis Green. "It's two teams that play a pretty similar style and we looked a step behind if I am being honest.

"They looked a little quicker than us tonight and I thought our team looked a little tired."

Goaltender Jacob Markstrom was frustrated after the Canucks lost for the fifth time in eight games.

"It's not good enough," said Markstrom, who stopped 25 shots. "I'm sick and tired of losing. We didn't play bad today, it's just small details. We're not winning and it's about winning hockey games. It's tough coming from 2-0 behind every game. It makes it a lot tougher."

NOTES: Vancouver has allowed the first goal of the game in the first five minutes eight times this season. ... Canucks RW Jake Virtanen was a healthy scratch for the third consecutive game. D Patrick Wiercioch and C Alex Burmistrov were also healthy scratches for the Canucks. ... The second period ended with 59.7 seconds left when a fan needed medical attention in the stands after being hit by a puck. ... D Shea Theodore returned to the Vegas lineup after being a healthy scratch for three games. ... Vegas G Malcolm Subban, out since Oct. 21 with a lower-body injury, returned to practice Wednesday and said he is close to returning. .... Vegas G Maxime Lagace played after leaving in the third period the loss to Edmonton with lower-body soreness. ... Healthy scratches for the Golden Knights were LW Brendan Leipsic and D Jon Merrill.