Live blog: Marc-Andre Fleury stifles Hurricanes in Golden Knights’ victory

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018 | 1:54 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018 | 9:38 p.m.

It all starts with Marc-Andre Fleury. The Golden Knights go as their goalie goes.

Fleury knows it; fans know it; teammates know it. That meant Saturday night was a massive success for Vegas.

Fleury was spectacular, and the Golden Knights followed his lead to flog the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0. Vegas’ goalie, and unofficial team leader, put together 35 saves, his second shutout of the year and first at home.

The Hurricanes had more opportunities — the shots were 35-24 — but they couldn’t capitalize on them. Vegas rode a wave of surprise goal-scorers to snap a two-game losing streak.

Brad Hunt and William Carrier each had their first goals of the season. Hunt had the first of the night, when he flew down the middle of the ice in the first period before sending home a pass from Erik Haula.

Haula also assisted on the second goal of the night, which came when Ryan Reaves pushed in a rebound off of a Shea Theodore shot in the second period. Carrier’s goal acted as insurance midway through the third period when he scored off of a pass from Nick Holden.

The Hurricanes kept firing, but Fleury kept stopping everything sent his way — including a handful of high-danger chances from top offensive threats Michael Ferland and Sebastian Aho. One puck did get past him midway through the third period, but it was waved off upon review because Justin Williams gloved it in the net.

Check back later for more coverage of the Golden Knights’ win over the Hurricanes.

Golden Knights lead 2-0 at end of the second period

On plenty of occasions this season, the Vegas Golden Knights have appeared to outplay opponents only to be trailing going into the third period.

Tonight, they’re enjoying the reverse fortune. Carolina has controlled much of the game through 40 minutes of play, but Vegas is the team that’s managed a goal in each period.

Ryan Reaves scored his fourth of the season for the second period score, getting his stick on a Shea Theodore rebound to beat Scott Darling. Erik Haula also picked up his second assist of the night on the play.

Carolina holds a 25-17 shots-on-goal advantage, but Marc-Andre Fleury has made several big-time saves to keep Vegas with the edge on the scoreboard.

Golden Knights lead 1-0 at end of the first period

The Golden Knights struggled to find their rhythm in the opening 10 minutes and gave the Hurricanes the bulk of the early scoring chances.

They started to soar from there, however, and go into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead to show for it. Vegas scored at 14:11 of the period when Brad Hunt flew down the slot and put a pass from Erik Haula into the back of the net.

The goal was the Golden Knights’ seventh power-play score of the season. They failed to score on their first opportunity of the night, and didn’t even get a shot on net, but also killed the Hurricanes’ only chance.

Marc-Andre Fleury has been sharp in net, racking up 12 early saves.

Pre-game

With the St. Louis Blues and Ottawa Seantors having only mustered a total of 48 shots on him, Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has faced a relatively light workload in his last two starts.

He’ll need to be prepared for more volume tonight when the Golden Knights host the Hurricanes at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena in a break between two legs of a road trip.

That’s not a ding towards the Golden Knights’ defense as much as it is a nod towards the Hurricanes’ offense. Getting shots off is kind of Carolina’s thing.

For three straight seasons, the Hurricanes have led the NHL in Corsi for — a measure of every shot a team takes regardless of its result — and they’re at the top of the statistics board again this year. Carolina had more quantity than quality in recent years, but appears to have improved in that regard this season.

The Hurricanes also lead the league in shots on goal, with 551, and won four of their first five games. They’ve since taken a step back, losing their last three, but still look like a playoff threat.

The Golden Knights are a kindred spirit in that regard. Vegas fancies itself a Stanley Cup Final contender, but is dangerously close of falling out of the postseason conversation all together with the second-worst record in the Western Conference.

This could be a beneficial scheduling spot for the Golden Knights to get back on track and snap a two-game losing streak considering the Hurricanes are playing a back-to-back in their first venture out west this season. The Hurricanes fell 4-3 to the Coyotes last night.

Tonight, they turn to goalie Scott Darling for his second start of the season since coming off of inured reserve. While the Golden Knights’ reputation may not quite be on the Hurricanes’ level as far as shot creation, they’re no slouches themselves.

Vegas is fifth in Corsi for and sixth in shots on goal so far this season.

With two desperate teams that never struggle to put pucks towards the net, it could be a fun night at T-Mobile Arena.

Keefer’s Prediction: Golden Knights 4, Hurricanes 3 (OT)

Season record for predictions: 4-4

Pick to score the Golden Knights’ first goal: Colin Miller

Season record for first goal scored: 1-for-8

TV: AT&T Sports Net (DirecTV 684, Cox 1313, CenturyLink 1760)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-130, Hurricanes plus-110; over/under: 5.5 (minus-110, minus-110)

Golden Knights (5-7-1) (3-2-1 home)

Coach: Gerard Gallant (second season)

Goals leader: Jonathan Marchessault (6)

Assists leader: Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson (7)

Expected goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (2.74 gaa, .888 save percentage)

Carolina Hurricanes (6-5-2) (1-2-0 road)

Coach: Rob Brind’Amour (first season)

Goals leader: Michael Ferland (7)

Assists leader: Sebastian Aho (13)

Expected goalie: Scott Darling (3.12 gaa, .902 save percentage)

Golden Knights expected game day roster

Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, William Carrier, Ryan Carpenter, Cody Eakin, Erik Haula, Tomas Hyka, William Karlsson, Oscar Lindberg, Jonathan Marchessault, Ryan Reaves, Reilly Smith, Alex Tuch

Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Nick Holden, Brad Hunt, Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Shea Theodore

Goalies (2): Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.