Face of a Franchise, Save of the Year: Fleury Leads VGK To 4-2 Win Over Toronto Before 18,292 Tuesday
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
From the start of the Golden Knights’ franchise in 2017, it was clear the marketing strategy was built around the “VegasBorn” theme and focusing on several players to sell the expansion team to the Southern Nevada market.
But Marc-Andre Fleury, a goaltender with his name etched on the Stanley Cup trophy, was clearly the franchise’s unofficial face of the brand.
And he cemented his place in VGK lore Tuesday with a glove save that might just inspire a statue in front of T-Mobile Arena years down the road.
The Knights, a team that has struggled to hold on to third period leads this season, relied on Fleury to close a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday when he went flying across his net crease to snare a line drive of a shot in the third period. At the time, the VGK clung to a 3-2 lead over the Leafs before 18,292 fans at the Big Ice House by the Strip.
The save became quite popular on the internet less than an hour after the Knights won the match.
VGK forward Cody Eakin dropped in an easy empty-netter and the Knights savored a 4-2 win over a dangerous Toronto squad. It was the team’s second consecutive win. Here’s Fleury at his locker after the game.
Rookie Cody Glass had given the Knights a 1-0 lead heading into the third period. Here’s Glass post-game.
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There were hundreds if not thousands of Toronto Maple Leafs fans at the Big Ice House who jetted into Las Vegas to follow their boys in blue. But there was another hockey superfan who also traveled to watch the game and his back story is not your typical hockey travel tale.
Meet Golden Knights fan Karl Woods, who turns 50, next month who travels about eight to 10 times a season from Seattle of all places. You know Seattle, the city that is getting the NHL’s next team.
But when Woods isn’t working his TSA job at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, chances are he’s departing Sea-Tac for Las Vegas. Like Tuesday night when Woods wore a Golden Knights outfit that cost him $600 — $300 plus for a VGK jersey, $180 for CCM hockey gloves, $75 for a Bauer helmet and $25 for VGK socks.
Woods estimates he spends as much as $2,000 a year for his tickets. He said he used to visit Las Vegas before and figured he would base in Sin City visits on when the Golden Knights were playing.
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