Vegas Golden Knights: We need to talk about Marc-Andre Fleury

Where do we start? I don’t think there are enough superlatives out there to describe the sorcery Marc-Andre Fleury produced for the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

I mean, I am genuinely lost for words at this point so let’s start with the headline, the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena for their second consecutive win.

But the First Star of the night and the man who deserves all the headlines and all the hype is of course Marc-Andre Fleury.

We’ve been talking all year about why Fleury is the Knights’ clear MVP so far this season, and he proved that yet again emphatically against the Maple Leafs.

Not only did he stop 31 of 33 shots but the 34-year-old also made history by becoming only the seventh goalie to reach 450 wins in the National Hockey League.

Fleury is now just four wins behind New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (454) and Curtis Joseph on the list, and he has a great chance of catching the recently retired Roberto Luongo, who sits third with 551 wins.

But that wasn’t even the main headline from the night. No, because what did Fleury go and do?

He went and produced not just the save of the year but arguably one of the greatest ever saves in the rich history of the National Hockey League.

Is that an exaggeration? Hell no! I mean, just watch it for yourself below:

It was a breathtaking glove save that would have made any Gold Glove winning Basemen in the MLB proud, and it is a stunning play that deserves to be watched and rewatched over and over and over again.

It was absolute daylight robbery on Nic Petan who couldn’t quite believe what he had just witnessed, and he wasn’t the only one.

T-Mobile Arena has gotten used to seeing moments of unbelievable brilliance from Fleury over the last two-and-a-bit years, but not even the most diehard of Marc-Andre Fleury fans could believe what had just unfolded in-front of their very eyes.

So, where does it rank among Fleury’s best saves in his career? Well, it has got to be right up there and we’ll be taking a look at that in another piece later in the week.

But back to Tuesday and it was truly a “where were you when” moment given the sheer intricacies of the play itself.

The technique that went into that save was just insane and Fleury, who is nearer to the end of his career than he is to the beginning of it, showed extreme athleticism to adjust his body and throw himself through the crease while keeping his eyes locked on the puck to snag it out of the air.

Simply incredible.

Fleury has shown throughout his career that he’s one of the most athletic goalies out there in terms of his lateral movement and ability to fly about and make unreal saves.

But this moment on Tuesday just took it to a whole different level.

And Toronto forward Nic Petan probably summed up the save best when he offered his thoughts postgame (quotes thanks to nhl.com/goldenknights):

"“It was a phenomenal save. It came out to me, so I just wanted to smack it. It was on my back hand so I didn’t have much time, but I didn’t think he saw it. Obviously, he did. Sometimes you have to tip your hat I guess. I don’t know if there is much else to say, just a great save. I’ll probably be seeing that one for a while.”"

That says it all.

It was an exhilarating moment and it blew the roof off T-Mobile Arena, reminding everyone why Marc-Andre Fleury is a surefire lock for the Hall of Fame once he hangs up his skates.

And it was also a save, a defining moment that could be looked back on at the end of the season as historic and perhaps critical if the team should go on and achieve their mission of lifting the Stanley Cup.

But, whatever happens between now and the end of June, Marc-Andre Fleury will continue to be in the conversation as one of the best goalies to have ever played in the NHL, and there will continue to be a spot left open for him in the Hall of Fame.

And we will all remember THAT save as arguably the one that cemented Marc-Andre Fleury’s legacy as one of the best that there ever was.