San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Vegas’ Fleury laughs off mistake
MONTREAL — Marc-Andre Fleury was so upbeat, the Vegas goalie laughed off a question about his costly late-game flub.
The Golden Knights might be well-served to do the same after finding themselves in the all too familiar position of facing adversity during a postseason run in which they’ve now trailed in all three series.
“It’s part of the game, having to talk to you guys and being reminded of my screwups, right?” Fleury said with an audible giggle in referring to the media Saturday, some 12 hours after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens. “Obviously, I wish things were different. But it is what it is, and got to put it behind and get ready for our next game.”
Game 4 of this Stanley Cup semifinal is Sunday night at Montreal, with Vegas down 2-1 after losing two straight.
Fleury did his best to move on after his misplaying of the puck along the end boards led to Montreal’s Josh Anderson scoring into an unguarded net to tie the game with 1:55 remaining. Anderson then capped the win by converting Paul Byron’s pass on a 2-on-1 break 12:53 into overtime.
Much of the focus was on Fleury’s miscue — “I’ve got to see the replay again, but I don’t know if (the puck) spins off my stick or my foot,” he said.
And yet, there were many factors beyond goaltending contributing to the outcome. Vegas scored just twice despite outshooting the Canadiens 30-8 through two periods and 45-27 overall, and it’s power play continued fizzling. In going 0 of 4 on the man advantage, the Golden Knights have converted just 4 of 38 power-play chances in 16 postseason games.
“There’s a lot of problems. I just don’t think you just pinpoint one,” Reilly Smith said of the power-play concerns.
Topping the list of challenges might be the issue of beating Carey Price. After giving up four goals on 30 shots in a seriesopening 4-1 loss, the Canadiens goalie has allowed just four on the next 76 he’s faced.
Price’s puck-smothering prominence and calm demeanor in the crease has given rise to the Canadiens’ growing confidence. The lowest-seeded team entering the playoffs, Montreal has won nine of 10 since trailing Toronto 3-1 in the first round.
Fleury is accustomed to bouncing back over a career in which his 161 playoff games are tied with Ed Belfour for third on the NHL list.
“This series is still young, and there’s a lot of hockey to be played so can’t dwell on it too long,” Fleury said.