Vegas leaned on its star goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, who delivered, leading the Golden Knights to a 2-1 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
Fleury made 31 saves through regulation and overtime, then stopped two more in the shootout to secure the win for Vegas. The Golden Knights, playing the second half of a back-to-back on a three-game road trip, improved to 7-0-0 all-time against Chicago since joining the NHL in 2017.
“He’s our ace. He’s been outstanding all year for us,” said coach Gerard Gallant.
Jonathan Toews beat Fleury in the shootout’s first round, but the veteran netminder responded by denying Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. On the other end, Jonathan Marchessault and Shea Theodore scored on Chicago’s Robin Lehner to clinch the victory for Vegas, just one night after losing 6-2 in Philadelphia.
The win marked Fleury’s 446th career victory, moving him past Terry Sawchuk for sole possession of seventh place on the NHL’s all-time wins list.
“I thought our game got better as it went on,” Fleury said after the win.
In just his second NHL game, Kirby Dach scored his first career goal for Chicago, while Lehner made 33 saves in an impressive outing. Dach, the third overall pick in this year’s draft, was thrilled with his milestone but disappointed by the loss.
“I thought we did many good things tonight,” said Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton. “It’s frustrating not to get rewarded for it.”
Lehner, who signed a one-year deal with the Blackhawks in July, was on the verge of his 15th career shutout when Vegas pulled Fleury for an extra attacker late in the third period. With 1:33 remaining, Nick Holden slipped a shot between Lehner’s legs to tie the game at 1-1.
Vegas had a power-play opportunity in overtime, but Chicago killed it off. Lehner made a key save on Max Pacioretty’s one-timer with just under 23 seconds left, sending the game to a shootout.
“These games are really exciting,” Holden said. “As a defenseman, you don’t want to make Fleury have to come up with big saves all the time, but it was kind of a back-and-forth game.”
The 18-year-old Dach put the Blackhawks on the board in the first period when a deflected puck hit his left leg and trickled into the net. Dach celebrated his first NHL goal as the crowd of over 21,000 erupted.
“It was a pretty cool moment,” Dach said. “But at the same time, I’m disappointed we lost. It’s about the team, not myself.”
Chicago nearly extended its lead in the second period, but Fleury made a diving save on a DeBrincat attempt and watched a Brandon Saad one-timer bounce off the post.
Lehner was also sharp in the second period, stopping William Carrier on a couple of quality scoring chances to keep the game tight.
Game Notes:
- According to coach Jeremy Colliton, Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy left the game with a lower-body injury and is expected to be out for a few weeks.
- The Blackhawks traded for defenseman Ian McCoshen from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forward Aleksi Saarela. McCoshen will report to Rockford in the AHL.
- Chicago dropped to 2-2-2 on its seven-game homestand.
Up Next:
- Golden Knights: Vegas returns home to face the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.
- Blackhawks: Chicago hosts the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.