Marc-Andre Fleury had a short, yet incredible, career with the Vegas Golden Knights. He won a Vezina Trophy and posted a GAA of 2.41, a save percentage of .917, and 23 shutouts in four seasons with Vegas. That sounds like an incredible stint for a surefire Hall of Famer.
However, one thing haunts him to this very day: he didn't win a Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights. Sure, he had three Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, jamming with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But he had the perfect chance to do so in 2018 and 2021. The latter came off of one unfortunate blunder by the legendary netminder.
Look away, Golden Knights fans. Look away because this one will sting for a long time.
The Golden Knights had a 2-1 lead in Game 3 of the 2021 Semifinal against the Montreal Canadiens. Everything was going swimmingly well until Fleury misplayed an incoming puck. Lo and behold, Josh Anderson pounces on the loose puck and ties the game. He proceeds to get the overtime game-winner and give the Canadiens the series lead.
Eventually, Montreal wins the series and represents the "Western Conference" in the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. But what would've happened if that lil' blunder never happened? What if Fleury held onto it and led the Golden Knights to victory in that Game 3? This one stings a little, so buckle up, dear reader.
What would've happened if Marc-Andre Fleury didn't misplay the puck against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3
Now, this is where things get extremely interesting. Golden Knights fans will remember Robin Lehner coming in for the Golden Knights and giving everything he had against Montreal in Game 4. He had a stellar Game 4 performance and stopped 27 of 28 shots. Would Pete DeBoer have put in Lehner if Fleury hadn't misplayed the puck in Game 3?
The funny thing is that DeBoer has been known to shift from one goaltender to another. His latest example was his questionable decision to pull Jake Oettinger in Game 6 of the 2025 Western Conference Final. What happened afterward? You guessed it. The Edmonton Oilers won that game and went to the Stanley Cup Final.
That's why I don't have too much confidence that the Golden Knights would've won the Stanley Cup that season. The Tampa Bay Lightning were an awesome team with the deepest forward group around. Fleury himself was starting to struggle, posting a GAA of 2.85 and a save percentage of .880 in his last three starts of the series. Add in a prime Andrei Vasilevskiy and that would've been trouble for the Golden Knights.
Let's not forget that this wasn't Bruce Cassidy that we were dealing with. DeBoer's had a penchant for fumbling the goaltender position. He's always made questionable decisions in net, whether it was the Oettinger flub or going back to Fleury in Game 5.
But what if DeBoer went to Lehner instead of Fleury anyways?
If DeBoer had been competent and pulled the full Bruce Cassidy, Lehner would've gotten the Golden Knights to the seventh game at least. The former goaltender was playing on a heater in his short stint and could've caused serious damage in the series if he started Game 5.
The problem here was that Carey Price was unstoppable in the series. We're talking about the San Jose Sharks legend posting a GAA of 2.10 and a save percentage of .933 during the Semifinal. That would've made it tough sledding for Vegas to navigate throughout the remainder of the series.
In short? The Golden Knights would've had the tough task of winning the Stanley Cup that year, even if Marc-Andre Fleury didn't misplay the puck in Game 3. The Golden Knights were stuck with a hot goaltender on the opposing end and would've faced a juggernaut in the Lightning if they advanced.
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