Vegas Golden Knights: Fleury on pace for another historic year
There are three things that are certain in this life: death, taxes and Marc-Andre Fleury being elite for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Just where would the Vegas Golden Knights be without their elite goalie? Probably not sitting at 6-3-0 through nine games when you look at the overall body of work.
In other words, Fleury has been sensational to start the 2019-20 NHL regular season and he’s been a driving force behind the franchise’s decent start to the year.
He leads the NHL in wins with six and has a .934 Save Percentage and a 2.18 Goals Against Average in nine games and eight starts.
Those are the stats, which are impressive enough, and the 34-year-old has also further bolstered his Hall of Fame case after securing his 445th career win, tying him with Terry Sawchuk for seventh in NHL history thanks to a stellar 29-save shutout win over former team the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
That victory also tied Fleury with four-time Stanley Cup winner Clint Benedict for 20th all-time in shutouts (58).
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But it is the eye test that has been even more stunning to watch given the amount of highlight-reel saves that Fleury has already amassed this year.
There was the stretch at the end of the second period against the Calgary Flames where Fleury stood on his head to stop every single puck that was flung in his direction, then there was the unreal pad saves to rob LA Kings duo Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar and who can forget the unreal glove save in Overtime to stymie Connor Brown of the Ottawa Senators?
In other words, Fleury has been absolutely lights out to begin the year and what makes his performances even more noteworthy is the fact that he has carried the bulk of the workload between the pipes.
Ever since Malcolm Subban went down with an injury at the end of the first period in the win over the Arizona Coyotes on October, 10, Fleury came in for the last two periods of that game before starting five straight games.
He’s been locked in, he was sensational in a back-to-back against the Flames and the Kings and he saved arguably his best showing of the year for his homecoming in Pittsburgh, saving all 29 shots he faced against the Penguins as he returned to haunt his old team of 13 years.
And let’s go back to the stats just to further hammer home the point of how great Fleury has been through the first few weeks of the 2019-20 season.
His GSAA (Goals Saved Above Average) is currently at 6.96, he has a 2.3 Goalie Point Shares, he has faced 53 shots on the penalty kill, allowing just two goals, and he has a .962 Save Percentage on the PK.
Taking into consideration both the stats and the eye test, it is abundantly clear why Fleury is still considered one of the best goalies in the NHL today and he’s showing no signs of slowing down, despite the fact that he will turn 35 next month.
He is the heartbeat of this team, both on and off the ice, and he is a huge reason why the Knights have been so successful on the penalty kill this season.
Fleury sets the tone for the rest of the team and, if he can maintain his current play, then there is no doubt that he could put up one of the best statistical years of his career, which would no doubt rubber-stamp his Hall of Fame pass.
As would a fourth Stanley Cup and the Golden Knights are rightly considered one of the leading contenders this year, and they certainly have all the pieces in place to be able to go the distance.
Next. Three Takeaways from Penguins shutout. dark
And, as the old adage goes, you need elite goaltending in order to win championships and the Vegas Golden Knights are certainly getting that from Marc-Andre Fleury right now.
There is no such thing as a sure-fire bet in life but you can be pretty confident when putting money on Fleury adding another career-year to his resume, and don’t be surprised if it results in a historic year for this franchise.