Gibson, Anaheim Ducks Blank Vegas Golden Knights 1-0

For fans of great goaltending, this was your game. John Gibson and Marc-Andre Fleury dueled the entire game but in the end it was the Anaheim Ducks shutting out the Vegas Golden Knights by a 1-0 score.

Gibson was solid all evening long and only one puck beat him, and that was when Nicolas Hague hit the goal post halfway through the second period. Despite Vegas best efforts, they could not solve the Ducks goaltender.

For the second game in a row Marc-Andre Fleury was a major part of the story for the Vegas Golden Knights. Fleury, starting in place of the injured Robin Lehner, made several spectacular stops including one that is guaranteed highlight material for the rest of the season:

Like… COME ON! pic.twitter.com/23dKQQGdt8

— NHL (@NHL) February 12, 2021

Even after missing with the poke check, Fleury reaches back with his left arm across the goal line and makes an incredible stop.

Finally Max Comtois was able to beat Fleury on a one-timer from the low slot to make it 1-0 Anaheim at 12:18 of the third period for the game’s only goal.

Tom’s Takeaways:

• Fleury was the surprise starter when Lehner was ruled out with an upper-body injury. He finished with 27 saves in taking his first loss of the season.
• Jonathan Marchessault took a holding penalty in the second period that turned into a 12-minute chance to cool his heels. Marchessault was assessed an extra 10-minute misconduct for Abuse of Officials, putting Vegas in a tight spot for half a period.
• Alex Pietrangelo saw a team-high 25:32 in his return to the ice, posting a minus-one rating with two shots on goal and three blocks.
• Anaheim stifled the Golden Knights early and often, allowing only 11 shots against through the first two periods. It took until the third to really see chances generated on a more consistent basis for the VGK.