Sunday night’s National Hockey League schedule only had two
games, but we saw a vintage performance from one of the best in the game. In
St. Louis, a forward learned the hard way not to take a run at the goaltender.
Plus, we have our Week in Review catching you up on all things goaltending.
Fleury Gets Feisty in Shutout of Flames
The Vegas Golden Knights have had one of the worst stretches
of hockey in their short franchise history of late. They entered Sunday night’s
contest against the Calgary Flames on a franchise-high five-game losing streak.
It was the perfect storm as the offense showed up and Marc-Andre Fleury added
to Calgary’s offensive misery.
Fleury made 34 saves in a 6-0 victory which included two goals for William Karlsson and four assists from defenseman Nate Schmidt.
“It’s been a rough patch,” Fleury told
reporters after the game. “We haven’t been scoring as much lately, so
to see so many guys get goals tonight, it’s good. It boosts everybody’s
confidence.”
The shutout was the 58th of his career, moving
Fleury into 20th place on the NHL’s all-time shutout list. With last
night’s performance, the Flames have gone the last 130:03 without a goal.
Fleury also gave a moment to chuckle at with a brief
interaction with Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk after he crashed the net.
“I just wanted to punch him,” Fleury said of the incident. “Every time he does this, he falls down and then hits me on the way on the back of the head. I had to control myself.”
Never change, Flower!
Sundqvist Fined for Charging Gibson
Midway through Saturday night’s contest between the Anaheim
Ducks and St. Louis Blues, John Gibson went behind his net to play the puck. There,
he was rudely greeted by Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist, who left his feet and
made high contact with Gibson.
Sundqvist received a charging penalty for his actions and picked
up a second minor for roughing after some of Gibson’s teammates came to his
aid. The Ducks’ goaltender was fine and he got the last laugh by making 37
saves in a 4-1 victory over the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
On Sunday evening, the NHL’s
Department of Player Safety reviewed the incident and decided to fine
Sundqvist $7,392.47 for his actions. This is the maximum fine allowed by the
current Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Check out the THW Goalie Page for everything between the pipes.
The Week in Review
Who’s Hot
The reports of Jonathan Quick’s demise may have been
premature. The two-time Stanley Cup winner had himself quite the week. He started
all three games for the Los Angeles Kings, winning them all. He gave up six
goals on 80 shots for a .925 save percentage (SV%).
His successful week began with a 27-save effort in a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. He was back in goal on Thursday, making 19 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory versus the visiting Detroit Red Wings. Quick wrapped things up with 4-3 win over the Golden Knights on Saturday, which saw him stopping 28 of the 31 shots he faced.
Quick’s numbers are still way off his from what we are used to seeing from him with a 3.74 goals-against average and .878 SV%. Hopefully, for Quick and the Kings, this week will get his season turned around which will be good for everyone involved.
Who’s Not
Sergei Bobrovsky was brought in by the Florida Panthers to
be the final piece of their Stanley Cup puzzle. He was supposed to solidify the
goaltending position and move the Panthers from pretenders to contenders.
The 31-year-old netminder struggled mightily in his three starts last week, even though the Panthers came out with two victories. He was pulled after two periods, in Tuesday’s start at the Boston Bruins, after giving up four goals on 23 shots. The Panthers made an epic third-period comeback with four straight goals to tie the time before winning in a shootout.
Bobrovsky’s struggles followed him home for Thursday’s 4-3
loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The offense bailed him out again on Saturday in a 4-3
victory over the New York Rangers. In his three games last week, Bobrovsky
posted a 4.19 GAA and .872 SV%.
The two-time Vezina winner has a 3.53 GAA and .882 SV% in his first 17 games for the Panthers. That is not what you want to see out of a guy who is in the first year of a huge seven-year, $70 million contract. Despite his struggles, the Panthers currently sit in third place of the highly-competitive Atlantic Division.
Backup of the Week
Tristan Jarry has not seen much action for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, but he has been very sharp when he has been called upon. He gave Matt Murray a rest by starting against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Jarry made 32 saves and the offense backed him up in a big 6-1 win over the high-powered offensive attack of the Maple Leafs.
It was Jarry’s second win of the year as he has been a hard-luck loser a couple of times this season due to a lack of offensive support. In his five starts this season, the 24-year-old has posted a 1.99 GAA and .938 SV%.