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Vegas Golden Knights: Making a case to give Malcolm Subban more starts

By Luis Tirado Jr. |
UNIONDALE, NY - DECEMBER 05: Vegas Golden Knights Goalie Malcolm Subban (30) makes a glove save during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the New York Islanders on December 5, 2019, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NY - DECEMBER 05: Vegas Golden Knights Goalie Malcolm Subban (30) makes a glove save during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the New York Islanders on December 5, 2019, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

With goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury returning to the Vegas Golden Knights after taking some time off, Malcolm Subban has been holding his own. Here’s to making a case for Subban to be given more starts, at least for now.

When it comes to the goaltending situation of the Vegas Golden Knights, they have a great thing going. Marc-Andre Fleury, one of the top winningest goalies of all time, has always been an anchor for the Golden Knights protecting the net. As of late, however, goaltender Malcolm Subban has delivered some big results starting in place of Fleury.

Unfortunately, Fleury recently lost his father and has been away from the team for a bit to deal with these personal reasons as Subban stepped up when needed. With Subban starting, the Golden Knights saw a nice spark and consistent results, going on a four-game winning streak with Subban playing close to lights out in all his starts.

Despite coming off a tough 3-2 loss in overtime against the New York Islanders, it looks like the Golden Knights will be getting Fleury back for their next game on Sunday. There is a very good chance that Fleury, who returned this week to the team, will get the starting nod when they face the New York Rangers at home.

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It’s a tough call here as head coach Gerard Gallant has an interesting, yet good situation on his hands with his goalies. On one hand, you can make the case that it’s best to stick with Fleury due to the established consistency he brings to the table and his legacy.

On the other side of the argument, Subban has been riding some serious momentum ever since he got more starts due to Fleury’s absence.

In the grand scheme of things, it might make more sense to give Subban more starts for now as Fleury eases back into the day-to-day dealings of the season. Most of the time when it comes to goaltenders and just like it is in Subban’s case, the more they play, the better they get.

Considering Subban was a big reason behind their previous four-game winning streak, it makes sense to keep the momentum going and see how things develop starting on Sunday and throughout the rest of next week. Subban has been doing very well with saves as he’s at .909 save percentage so far this season and only getting better this season.

Fleury is doing good too when it comes to his save percentage, which is at .919, but again, it might benefit the Golden Knights to let him be a backup for a few more games considering what he’s dealing with. Time heals all and sometimes with players, especially with the death of a family member, it might be good to ease them in later rather than sooner. Subban has proven he’s more than capable of holding down the fort whenever his number is called.

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