Vegas Golden Knights: Three Takeaways from Penguins shutout

1 of 3

PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 19: Vegas Golden Knights Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) is congratulated by teammates after a 3-0 shutout victory in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vegas Golden Knights on October 19, 2019, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Marc-Andre Fleury showed again why he will be heading to the Hall of Fame once he hangs up his skates after backstopping the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

Fleury, returning to a place he called home for 13 years, was sensational yet again in his fifth consecutive start and he stopped all 29 shots fired at him for his first shutout of the year.

Paul Stastny got the go-ahead goal on the power play in the second period, while both William Karlsson and Mark Stone scored empty-netters late in the third.

It was a complete effort from the Golden Knights who are now 6-3-0 on the year and 3-1-0 on the road.

And, as a result, the Knights also snapped the Penguins’ five-game winning streak in what was the first game of a three-game road trip.

Here are our three main takeaways from the Vegas Golden Knights’ 3-0 shutout success over the Pittsburgh Penguins…

PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 19: Jake Bischoff #45 of the Vegas Golden Knights skits during the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on October 19, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) /

1. Bischoff Shines On Debut

After the bottom defensive pairing of Deryk Engelland and Nic Hague hadn’t exactly gone to plan with the duo struggling in their own zone, Vegas Head Coach Gerard Gallant opted to make a change prior to the trip to Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Hague was a healthy scratch and in came fellow rookie defenseman Jake Bischoff, who made his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

And what a bow it was.

Bischoff looked calm and composed from his very first shift and he looked as though he had been playing in the NHL for years, rather than mere minutes.

He looked solid in his own zone and he looked to be a more reliable option alongside Engelland given that Bischoff is more of a stay-at-home defenseman, as opposed to Nic Hague who is an offensive blueliner.

🎥 Bischoff: Absolute dream come true for me. The fact our team won and Flower got a shutout back in Pittsburgh, it was definitely really cool. pic.twitter.com/LiYEbr5NdF
— 🏆 - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 20, 2019

Bischoff nearly even marked his debut in stunning fashion too after getting a shot from the point through to Tristan Jarry in the Pittsburgh goal, but it was a hugely impressive showing from the rookie.

The 25-year-old logged 16:06 minutes of total ice time with two shots on goal, two hits, three blocked shots and a plus/minus rating of +1.

It is a very small sample size but the Vegas Golden Knights may have just found their long-term replacement for Deryk Engelland.

Home/Analysis