Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Marc-Andre Fleury cementing himself as Golden Knights’ star

Knights Blank Capitals

L.E. Baskow

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) stops a shot by Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie (77) with his foot pad during their game at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017.

Knights Blank Capitals

The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate their 3-0 shut out of the Washington Capitals in their NHL hockey game Saturday, December 23, 2017, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Launch slideshow »

Throughout the Golden Knights’ remarkable start to their maiden season, one of the predominant reasons coaches and players give to explain the success is the team’s depth, balance and lack of an individual superstar.

Look out, because that last part may not be true.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 26 shots by the Washington Capitals during the Golden Knights' 3-0 win Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena, recording his first shutout as a Golden Knight, and 45th of his career.

“He’s our superstar in a way,” David Perron said. “We managed to make some noise without him for awhile and I think now he wants to join in the action.”

Fleury is one shutout behind the Kings’ Jonathan Quick and Predators' Pekka Rinne for third among active goalies, and has shown no signs of slowing down since joining the Golden Knights.

The win improves Fleury’s record this season to 6-1-1 with a .938 save percentage. His only regulation loss came on Oct. 13 against the Red Wings when he suffered a concussion.

Prior to the concussion, Fleury stole road wins for the Golden Knights against the Dallas Stars and Arizona Coyotes where he saved 72-of-74 shots faced.

“If we remember we weren’t even playing that good of hockey early in the season and he kept us alive in those games,” Perron said. “I think he’s just happy to be in the mix again. He wants to be just one of the guys. He’s a leader because of the way he plays on the ice.”

Now Fleury has returned to the lineup, but the team in front of him has drastically changed — at least the perception of it has.

Vegas is 23-9-2 and sits atop the Western Conference with 48 points. Since 1967 when the NHL expanded from the Original Six (creating two conferences) the teams leading their conference on Christmas have qualified for the playoffs 96-of-96 times.

“We knew what we got when we got (Fleury) in the expansion draft,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “We know he’s a first-class goaltender and he played a real solid game tonight. I thought us getting that 3-0 lead was really big, but after that I thought we didn’t play the same in the second and third periods. He made some real key saves to keep it 3-0.”

Fleury has shut out the Capitals in consecutive games, dating back to last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs when he and the Penguins defeated Washington 2-0 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“I guess I’ve faced them a few times over the past few years, and I guess you pick up a few things here and there, but they have a lot of talent on the team and you can’t predict all the time what’s going to happen,” Fleury said.

He stopped the last 55 shots by the Capitals.

“A lot of our game was that we couldn’t get past Marc-Andre Fleury, but we had a couple looks,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “They really compete. They make those desperation plays, and I thought Marc-Andre Fleury was real strong when he needed to be tonight.”

Even with a shutout, Fleury wasn’t spectacular in net. Most of the time he was in good position and the defense limited the Capitals high-danger scoring opportunities. But Fleury shined in the other aspects of goaltending, like being a second set of eyes for his defensemen.

“It’s incredibly helpful and it’s something that’s very undervalued is how a goaltender communicates to his defensemen,” Vegas defender Nate Schmidt said. “He’s the guy that can see the whole ice. We have our backs turned and we have to rely on him. It all starts with him being very vocal.”

Another aspect of Fleury’s game that helps the Golden Knights is his puck-handling ability behind the net. When he’s on the ice he can sometimes work as a third defender, especially when the puck is dumped into the zone.

“It’s huge,” Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore said. “I think one of the biggest parts of his game that I like is the way he moves the puck. He’s very mobile and that always helps as a defenseman. It gets you out of pinches sometimes when he’s able to move the puck.”

When Fleury goes behind the net to catch the puck, he’s not simply looking to clear it out. There are times he holds on, assesses the situation and starts an offensive rush going the other way.

“The other guys who played really well for us don’t handle the puck as much as he does, and he’s got a lot of confidence doing that,” Gallant said. “Sometimes it backfires on you, but the way he handles the puck definitely helps us break out of our zone.”

As the Golden Knights head toward the second half of the season, hoping to stay in the playoff race and eventually make the postseason, Fleury is going to be key.

A hockey goalie, perhaps more than any position in sports, can carry a team to wins in the postseason despite what’s happening around them. It’s been proven year after year in the NHL playoffs that a hot goalie can propel a less-talented team to a deep run at the Cup.

And while the Golden Knights have proudly proclaimed their lack of a superstar as a badge of honor, Fleury may be just that.

“It goes without saying that he’s a phenomenal player and he’s the reason why we have a chance to win every night,” Schmidt said. “He and (Malcolm) Subban have become a great tandem in our league and that’s what you need. You need two goalies to play well and those guys are playing great.”

Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.

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