Marc-Andre Fleury Makes History with 1-0 Shutout Win over Coyotes

Marc-Andre Fleury posted a 14-save shutout for his 484th career win, moving him into a tie for fourth all-time in the NHL with Eddie Belfour as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Arizona Coyotes 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Fleury has had a season full of history-making moments, and today was no exception. It might not have been his busiest outing of the season but he answered every bell and it was needed as the Vegas Golden Knights registered only one goal from Tomas Nosek.

Vegas improves to 5-1 against the Coyotes this season with the win.

Golden Grades:

Golatending – A+

Hard to give out anything but an A when the goalie registers a shutout. When it’s a history-making win, you tack on the plus. Marc-Andre Fleury has had an amazing career and coming to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft three years ago provided a rebirth for him that has continued to today. The shutout was also his 66th career shutout tying him for 15th all-time with Patrick Roy.

Defense – A

Allowing only 14 shots against in a game is pretty darn good. Vegas really did a fantastic job holding the Coyotes to the outside and not letting them establish any real offensive zone time. Unlike when the Golden Knights took the foot off the gas after they built a 4-0 lead last game, they stayed vigilant the entire time.

Forwards – B+

It seemed like things were just slightly off for the forwards today, with four or five shots hitting the goalposts. They definitely rose to the occasion physically and it was good to see, especially once things got chippy. Depth of scoring is going to be incredibly important and always nice to see a guy like Nosek who seems to have it going right now.

Tom’s Takeaways

• After the game, Tomas Nosek was asked about his goal-scoring celebration where he waved into the stands and appeared to blow a kiss. His explanation was that his wife and first-born son were at the game, and it was the first time his son has ever seen him score a goal. Aww.
• Marc-Andre Fleury. Wow. Still kicking butt and taking names. He’s now five wins away from tying Roberto Luongo for third all-time in wins at 489. He’s also creeping up the all-time shutout list (T-15 now at 66) but unlikely to catch all-time leader Martin Brodeur in either category. Brodeur retired with 691 wins and 125 shutouts.
• Fleury’s 18 wins are tied for fourth this season in the NHL and his five shutouts are tied for first.
• This game was chippy. Arizona is scrapping to stay in the playoff chase, and some of the hits on both sides were hard and potentially borderline. I would not be surprised if members of both teams ended up with phone calls from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
• Max Pacioretty hit the post three times in the game and remains one goal away from 300 in his career.