Vegas Golden Knights Place Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Marchessault on Injured Reserve

The Vegas Golden Knights will be without two key players heading into Sunday’s action versus the Bruins.

Well, this has gone from bad to worse for the Vegas Golden Knights. First off, the team placed Erik Haula on injured reserve with a lower-body injury after the low hit from Tomas Tatar on Friday night. And as if the third-period disaster was bad enough, the NHL’s newest franchise got terrible news Sunday morning.

The Vegas Golden Knights announced they placed Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Marchessault on IR. Losing your number one goaltender and one of the top offensive weapons is not an ideal situation. Fleury took a hard hit to the head in the crease on Friday night versus the Red Wings and was diagnosed with a concussion. And its unknown how Marchessault suffered a lower-body injury but it must be somewhat of an issue.

Additionally, the team announced they have called up forward Alex Tuch and goaltender Maxime Lagace from the Chicago Wolves. Tuch was one of the players that just missed the cut in training camp. And interestingly, the team decided Lagace over fellow Wolves goaltender Oscar Dansk.

With the injury of Fleury, that means newly acquired goalie Malcolm Subban will be the team’s number one heading into Sunday’s action and beyond. His first opportunity to become a solidified NHL goaltender comes against his former club, the Boston Bruins. Subban will certainly have his shot at sweet revenge on his mind playing against the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2012 entry draft.

Subban always had great athleticism in net, and it was the reason why he was one of the second highest goaltender taken in the 2012 draft. He needs to improve his positioning as well as playing at a consistent level at the NHL level. Additionally, he needs to limit the number of soft goals to the absolute bare minimum at the NHL level.  He also needs to learn more about shooters tendencies.

But let’s face it, Subban is not ready to be number one goaltender. Yes, this is Subban’s first big chance; there’s no doubt about it. However, once Fleury is well enough to return, Subban should be back to full backup duty.

Next: Shipachyov Ready to Return?

All in all, the Golden Knights will have their hands full for the next few weeks or so. It should also be noted that three injuries for one team in one game is unheard of in a hockey game. Unfortunately, just terrible luck for the Vegas Golden Knights.