Taking Vegas by storm
LAS VEGAS — The face of the franchise has become The Flower.
Even in the desert, it is somewhat fitting. Walk around the Las Vegas strip, where a week ago horrific tragedy befell this city, and you will see bouquets of flowers lining the streets, sticking out of cowboy boots and displayed in various memorials.
They are everywhere, including the hockey rink, where Marc-Andre Fleury — “Flower” to his teammates — has given a city hope during a difficult time.
On Tuesday, the Vegas goaltender stopped 31 of 33 shots to help the Golden Knights to a 5-2 win in their first-ever regular season home opener. After three games, they remain one of only a handful of undefeated teams in the NHL. And along with James Neal, who has five of the team’s nine goals, a big reason for it has been the rock-solid play of Fleury.
“Flower’s the most important guy on the ice and we appreciate him,” said Neal.
“We were hoping he was going to be our backbone,” said head coach Gerard Gallant. “So far, he’s been incredible.”
Admittedly, this isn’t what Fleury expected. No one could have. When the Golden Knights began the year with a roster full of cast-offs cobbled together from the expansion draft, it was supposed to be a long and difficult season. Most predicted they would battle Arizona, Colorado and New Jersey for last place. That still might happen. The season is only a week old, after all.
But something special is happening in the desert. Riding a wave of emotion following the senseless shooting deaths of 58 people last week, the team is 3-0 — “You’re hearing stories all over the city about how much spirits are lifted with just a win,” said defenceman Deryk Engelland — and it begins with Fleury, who is amongst the top-five in the league with a 1.32 goals-against average and a .963 save percentage.
On Tuesday, Fleury was asked if he could have dreamt this happening.
“I think I would have lied if I said yes,” he said. “But we’ll take it. I have a lot of confidence in this team. I’m proud of the way the guys are playing. They’re battling out there. It’s fun. It’s fun to win those games.”
Sitting in his dressing room stall after an emotional win, Fleury couldn’t stop smiling. When it became apparent he would be heading to Vegas in the summer, he was nervous. But he was also excited. The 32-year-old had spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, where he had just won back-to-back Stanley Cups. But with Matt Murray having assumed the No. 1 job in net, Fleury welcomed the chance to be a starter again, even if he was unsure what playing in Vegas would be like.
“A lot of unknowns,” he said. “I’ve been used to the same things over and over and I was comfortable with my team.”
It’sbeenatransition.InPittsburgh, he was a household name, but he was also able to fly a bit under the radar in a dressing room that included Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and other star players. In Vegas, it’s the opposite. He’s the star.
When he walked onto the stage after being announced as the final pick in the expansion draft, fans chanted his name. One even yelled, “I love you,” to which Fleury responded: “I love you, too.”
Since then, the love has grown. According to the team store, Fleury’s jersey is the No. 1 seller — “it’s not even close,” said a Golden Knights representative — and it is not uncommon to see fans walking around in “Flower Power” T-shirts.
As GM George McPhee told the NHL Network, “We’d like the logo to be the face of our franchise, but it’s quickly becoming Marc-Andre Fleury.”
On the ice, he’s been just as instrumental. Fleury, who was named the NHL’s second star of the week, stopped 45 of 46 shots against the Dallas Stars to help Vegas win their historic regular-season opener last Friday. And he followed it up with back-to-back wins against the Coyotes.
“When we selected Marc in the expansion draft, we knew we got a great goaltender and a great person,” said Gallant. “He’s a good team leader for us. I think all of our players really believe in our goalie. He’s been A1 the first three games and that’s what we expect from him … He’s going to be the leader of our team.”
Suddenly, a team everyone expected the worst from has become the league’s best story of the early season. Can it continue? Maybe not.
But thanks to Fleury, there is life in the desert.
“Definitely a good feeling,” said Fleury. “It’s not easy to build a team from scratch and picking guys from other teams and other leagues … We know we’re probably not the best team around, so we have to work hard every night to have a chance and to keep improving.”