FSM Essential Preview: Golden Knights vs Avalanche- Game 14

The Vegas Golden Knights played a solid game to open the series between them and the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon which saw Fleury record his second shutout of the season.

Marc Andre Fleury has been stellar of late as he was named 2^nd star of the week last week. In his past four games, his play has resulted in a record of 3-1-0 with a 1.51 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage, as well as one shutout. Needless to say, he has been a huge part of his team’s success so far this season and has not shown any signs of slowing down whatsoever. It sure is a welcome sight to see after his noted struggles last season and the “goalie controversy” heading into this season. While many felt management and the coaching staff did him a disservice last year, the fact of the matter is that the NHL is a business, and wins and losses are the only things that matter at the end of the day.

Yet, the beloved goaltender has shown that business is good for him so far this year. In terms of NHL rankings, Fleury is tied for third in goals-against average at 1.38, holds fourth place in save percentage at .944%, is tied for fourth in total wins at seven, and tied for second in shutouts at two. At thirteen games into the season, those are stats that he and Knight’s fans alike should be immensely proud of. I personally feel that Fleury’s play so far has been a statement to management and the rest of the team that he is their guy this year and can be counted on to get the job done. Coach DeBoer was clear about wanting to have a constant goalie rotation this season, as was evidenced by the even split between Fleury and Lehner before Robin was held out of play the past few games. It will be interesting to see if that is still the case once both goalies are available again.

The Colorado Avalanche will come into T-Mobile Arena again tonight looking to even up the series before both teams head to Denver for the following two games.

I expect the rest of the series to look slightly different from the first game as the Avs find their legs again and settle back into their game after extended time off. The fact of the matter is that Colorado is an exceptionally talented time with high-end scoring ability. While the Knights performed well defensively on Sunday, I think it is safe to say they will need to score more goals the rest of the series to keep their edge. One can only expect players like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar to stay off the scoresheet for so long. With that being said, VGK has plenty of weapons of their own and have been trending up lately and have shown they can win games in multiple ways.

After scoring three power-play goals against the Sharks on Saturday, it is no secret that the VGK play with the extra man has looked much more potent and is trending in the right direction. The Knights currently sit at 19^th in the NHL in power-play percentage, which is a huge leap forward from the beginning of the season. The rest of this series will be a great test as the Avs are currently ranked 1^st in the NHL in terms of penalty kill percentage and have been very stingy when shorthanded. With the way Fleury has been playing of late if the Knights can continue to show up on special teams, that is a scary sight for the rest of the league.

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play tonight taking on the Colorado Avalanche for their second game in the four-game series. The puck drop is set for 7 p.m. and will be on AT&T SportsNet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

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-D.J. Wood– Franchise Sports Media

Follow D.J. on Twitter @DJwoody97

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