In an epic come-back victory after a five-game losing slump, the Vegas Golden Knights shut out the Calgary Flames 6-0.
As usual, there were three stars of the game announced after the third period. The third was William Karlsson, who scored two of the six goals in the evening. Nate Schmidt managed to get four assists, earning him the second star of the game. A shutout isn’t anything without its goalie, though. And that’s exactly why Marc-Andre Fleury was the first star of the game.
Prior to the thrilling game, Golden Knights officials premiered the documentary “Valiant.” This documentary focused on the team and how they brought the Las Vegas community together after the October 1 tragedy.
On that horrendous night, 58 victims were killed. Coincidentally, Fleury’s shutout victory against the Flames was the 58th of his career. It almost seems like a fitting tribute from the Golden Knights goalie.
Other than the fact that he blocked all 34 shots Calgary threw at him, Fleury contributed other things to the victory. For instance, he was extremely involved in this game physically. He tripped a couple players, and got under Flames player Matthew Tkachuk’s skin. That physicality and passion seemed to light a fire under the team to carry them to victory.
There was also one other thing. Gary Lawless mentioned something in broadcasting. After the last loss, the press had to wait a while to get into the locker room. Why? The team was having a closed meeting and, in rare form, Fleury spoke. Evidently, Fleury has only spoken up three times since joining the Golden Knights.
Whatever he said, and whatever passion he renewed in the team, we certainly hope they don’t lose it any time soon, especially this week. The Golden Knights will face Toronto on Tuesday, and then San Jose on Thursday.
