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Fleury stops 31 shots in return to Vegas, Blackhawks win – TSN

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury has now beaten all 32 teams in the NHL.

Fleury made 31 saves against his former team and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 on Saturday night to snap a six-game losing streak.

Jujhar Khaira and Riley Stillman scored for the Blackhawks, who were 0-3-3 during their skid.

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“I think our team played well tonight,” Fleury said. “I thought we defended well and obviously got a couple of big goals.”

It was Fleury’s first start against Vegas since being traded in the offseason, and first trip back into an arena he dominated during his four years with the Golden Knights. His strong play inside T-Mobile Arena continued Saturday, as he stopped 28 straight shots after Ben Hutton gave Vegas a 1-0 lead early.

Fleury stymied the league’s third-highest scoring team to its lowest score in more than two months. It marked just the fourth time this season Vegas has been held to one goal or fewer. It was the Golden Knights’ lowest scoring output since being shut out 4-0 in Toronto on Nov. 2.

“I wish there was no goals, (would have) been better,” Fleury said.

The game’s three goal scorers had combined for two goals entering the game, and Khaira had both of them.

Fleury, who was with Vegas for its first four seasons in the league, is 9-4-2 over his last 15 games after starting the season with one win in his first eight appearances.

The 18-year veteran and three-time Stanley Cup champion was greeted by a tribute video before the game, which sent the announced crowd of 18,367 into a frenzy.

“I still think (the pregame video is) better than mid-game,” Fleury said. “I talked to (former Knight and New York Ranger Ryan Reaves) after last game he was here and he said how hard it was after he saw the video. It was good to get it out of the way quick. Obviously, it’s just a few images and videos, but a lot of memories come through seeing that. I was really fortunate to have a great time here in Vegas.”

Hutton helped settle Fleury’s jitters in the first period, with his first goal of the season when he gathered the puck off a faceoff and fired it perfectly over Fleury’s right shoulder into the upper left corner of the goal just 5:17 into the game.

It was all Vegas would get against its former netminder.

“We kept them to the outside, and we forced them to make lateral plays instead of shooting, and we were blocking some shots,” Chicago interim coach Derek King said. “Guys were getting in lanes, forcing bad pucks. … When we do that, we give ourselves a chance.”

Robin Lehner made 19 saves for the Golden Knights, who have lost three of their last four — all at home.

Despite the loss, the Golden Knights remained four points ahead of second-place Anaheim in the Pacific Division, as the Ducks lost to the Rangers 4-1.

“We got to get our energy levels back up,” Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. “I thought we ran a little dry tonight. The two disappointing games during the homestand were the Nashville game and tonight. I’m not pressing the panic button. I like our group.”

The Blackhawks tied it when Khaira shagged the puck off a bank pass, skated into the zone and fired a wrist shot far side and under Lehner’s right arm at 4:38 of the second.

Chicago took the lead when Stillman’s shot from the top caromed off Vegas center Brett Howden’s knee and into the net with 5:39 remaining in the middle period.

NOTES: Vegas F William Carrier suffered an upper-body injury and did not return. … Golden Knights D Shea Theodore is one game shy of playing in his 300th with Vegas.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: At Columbus on Tuesday night.

Golden Knights: Host Toronto on Tuesday night.

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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

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Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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