Marc-Andre Fleury, the most impactful player in the short history of Vegas Golden Knights, this weekend will feature the highest profile game of the regular season they have ever played.
“He deserves to start this game,” said Vegas coach Peter DeBoer.
Fleury will lead the Golden Knights on the ice for Bridgestone NHL Outdoors on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche at Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Stateline, Nevada (3 pm ET; NBC, SN1, SN, TVAS). It is the first outdoor game for the Golden Knights, and the goalkeeper who started his first regular season, the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Stanley Cup finals will be on the network.
Fleury started 164 of the 249 Golden Knights regular season games and has 98 of his 143 wins since he started playing in the 2017-18 season, when he reached the final.
“Their impact for this franchise from the day they had the [2017 NHL] The expansion draft was immeasurable, “said DeBoer of the 36-year-old, who is in his 17th NHL season and has won the Stanley Cup three times with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2009, 2016, 2017).” I think he has the perspective. Many guys don’t realize they are in the twilight of their career or tend to ignore it, and they may not look back and enjoy the moments so much, but when talking to him, I think he has this recognition and appreciation at the moment when this it is a special game and a special day. “
Fleury (7-2-0) averaged 1.56 goals conceded and 0.937 percentage of saves this season, ranking first and second in the NHL among goalkeepers with five or more matches. He started five consecutive games with Robin Lehner marginalized because of an injury to the upper body and is 3-2-0 with a shutout, a percentage of defenses of 1.81 GAA and 0.931. Fleury allowed three goals in 55 shots (0.945 percentage of saves) in consecutive games against Colorado on Sunday and Tuesday.
“This is a stepping stone for our organization and I think we are beginning to be known in the League as a destination”, captain of the Golden Knights Mark Stone said. “Everyone wants to play in Vegas. He was part of the reasoning and one of the main reasons for creating this culture. He is excited to play … He played amazingly.”
Fleury played two outdoor NHL games, both for the Penguins: the 2011 NHL Winter Classic, a 3-1 loss to Washington Capitals at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh; and the 2014 NHL Stadium Series, a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field in Chicago.
This game is not just about Fleury or its start in the first game of the regular Vegas season.
It is more about the scene, the picturesque setting, the first time that the NHL will play a game on a golf course with the beauty of Mother Nature taking the place of fans because of the coronavirus pandemic. The previous 30 NHL outdoor games had 1,622,081 fans present.
Video: Describing the challenges for players in Tahoe
This event, which will end the next day with the Philadelphia Flyers facing Boston Bruins on the Honda NHL Outdoors Sunday (2pm ET; NBC, SN, SN1, TVAS) is made for TV, with Lake Tahoe and Sierra Nevada in the background.
“The surroundings speak for themselves,” captain of the Avalanche Gabriel Landeskog said. “You can see that in the pictures, but it still doesn’t do it justice. Once you’re on the ice, it’s probably the purest form of hockey.”
On Saturday, purity will be bottled up in a game between two teams that showed this week how good they can be and how close they are in the Honda West Division.
Vegas and Colorado were chosen by many to finish 1-2 in the division, in any order. The Golden Knights have played 14 games, the Avalanche 13, and they are the first and second in percentage points in the West. Vegas (10-3-1) is at .750, Colorado (8-4-1) is at .654.
The Golden Knights defeated the Avalanche 1-0 at home on Sunday. Two nights later, on the same ice, Colorado won 3-2 in Nazem Kadrigoal 41 seconds from the end of the third period.
Shots on goal in both games were 55-53 in favor of Colorado. The total number of shot attempts was 120-112 in favor of Vegas.
“There were two very disputed games, and I think you saw a little bit of everything, the speed and talent of both teams, some great goalkeepers in both games,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar. “We still have two more against them (in a set of four games that ends in Colorado on Monday) and this is obviously a great scenario.”
Video: Golden Knights use microphones to practice at Lake Tahoe
The Golden Knights got healthier on Tuesday with the defender’s return Shea Theodore, who lost three games due to an upper body injury.
On Saturday, Landeskog and defender Samuel Girard they are expected to return, and the defender Cale makar it will be a game time decision. Striker Landeskog and Girard lost both games against Vegas while on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list. Makar was out with an upper body injury.
“They are putting the captain back on the team and he brings leadership, skill, courage as a versatile player and Makar is one of the best defenders in the League,” said Stone. “So obviously, you’re going to have to put some pressure on these guys a little more … They’ll get along with it.”
Colorado Center Nathan MacKinnon said the Avalanche’s recovery should give an even better indication of how the teams fit together, how close they are and perhaps who has the advantage.
“It is a very difficult team to face,” said MacKinnon. “They have cutting edge skills. There are no weaknesses. I am sure we will face them sometime in the playoffs and it will be a difficult series.”