By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Don’t bury The Flower quite yet.
VGK goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, an original Golden Knights player and arguably the three-year-old franchise’s most popular player, came off the bench in Game 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday and played well to give the Knights a 3-0 lead in the Best-of-7 Round One series.
Robin Lehner, the VGK goalie who won Games 1 and 2 for the Golden Knights, took a seat on the bench as the back-up today and saw a vintage Fleury performance. Lehner is undefeated with the Golden Knights, which acquired the big goaltender from Chicago Feb. 24.
VGK forward William Karlsson notched a short-handed backhander in period one and VGKer Patrick Brown picked up a rebound in front of an open Chicago net and poked in the Golden Knights’ second goal in period two.
The Knights won without forwards Paul Stastny and Tomas Nosek in the lineup, deemed unfit to play. Their injuries were not specified.
The Blackhawks’ Olli Maatta registered Chicago’s only goal in period three to cut into the VGK lead at 2-1.
Lehner is expected to return to the goal Sunday for Game 4. Here’s his response to Fleury’s performance Saturday.
It was Fleury’s 80th career playoff win, tying him for sixth place on the all-time NHL postseason list. Here’s Fleury after the game:
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