Fleury’s stunning save caps Golden Knights’ win over Maple Leafs

By Justin Emerson

Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019 | 11 p.m.

He looked like a shortstop snaring a liner up the middle, extending fully and snatching it out of the air. Or maybe a wide receiver, diving in the end zone to corral a touchdown pass.

Marc-Andre Fleury has made 23,151 saves in his Hall of Fame career, but perhaps none were as breathtaking as the robbery of Nic Petan in the third period of Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It was, quite simply, stunning.

“Just enjoy it I think, little giggle, little smile, just happy it didn’t go in,” Fleury said. “Those are the saves I love to play for.”

When Fleury’s illustrious career comes to an end, it won’t be possible to string together highlights without that save. The clincher of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final may take top billing, but ignoring the stakes, that one wasn’t as good as Tuesday’s.

The first shot actually got by Fleury. Ilya Mikheyev’s initial attempt pulled Fleury to the right of the crease, and it clanked off the post and to the opposite circle. Fleury heard the sound of rubber hitting iron and turned to find the puck, eyeing it on the stick of Petan, whose back-hander was earmarked for the net.

Instead, Fleury made a save that will have Golden Knights fans talking about forever.

“What came to my mind was that he’s worth of the price of admission every night,” defenseman Jon Merrill said.

His teammates were in awe the same way the 18,292 at T-Mobile Arena were. “Jaw-dropping,” “unbelievable,” and “incredible” they called it. But it somehow also didn’t surprise them. They’ve watched him from afar before they became Golden Knights and for the last three seasons as a teammate, and as amazing as it was, it’s equally amazing that his teammates now expect it from him.

“I don’t know how he does it,” forward Cody Glass said. “He does it every time and he keeps us in every game.”

The save would have been impressive in the middle of a blowout when it didn’t matter if it was a goal or not. But it saved Tuesday’s game. The Golden Knights led 3-1 but had allowed a goal 3:30 prior to make it 3-2. The Maple Leafs had had seven of the last eight shots and were buzzing the net in search of the equalizer. They thought they had it.

“The guy got some good wood on it, but Flower’s just a little bit quicker,” said defenseman Shea Theodore, extending the first syllable in little for added emphasis.

It’s another accolade on an ever-growing list for Fleury, but he wasn’t the only one with a big night. Tomas Nosek scored his fourth of the season and it was one that was needed, not just by the Golden Knights but for his own psyche.

Nosek has been in and out of the lineup this year, serving as a healthy scratch as recently as Wednesday. He hadn’t had a point since the fifth game of the season, and when a puck slipped off his stick on a breakaway attempt in the first, he was frustrated.

Second chances don’t happen often, but he created one for himself in the third. He plucked the puck from Toronto defenseman Tyson Barrie at the Maple Leafs blue line and skated in all alone against goalie Frederick Andersen. Instead of going to the forehand again he went to the backhand, beating Andersen below the glove and giving the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead.

He jumped into the glass to celebrate, relief all over his face.

“I needed it. Obviously, I needed it, especially after the first one,” Nosek said. “If you get the second chance and you score, it’s excitement almost twice. So yeah I was happy.”

Nosek broke a slump, Mark Stone and Cody Eakin each scored for the second night in a row and Glass had the first multipoint night of his career. The Golden Knights were 2-for-2 on the power play, they won their second in a row and jumped back into a playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

But Tuesday will always be remembered as the night Fleury made “that save.”

“He was unbelievable, and he saved (us) again,” Nosek said. “We have to be thankful for (Fleury) that we have him. He’s our best player.”