Fleury Strong & Steady for Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights wake up today sitting in first place in the West Division with 10-2-1 record and Marc-Andre Fleury to thank.
Fleury has been the best goalie in the NHL to date and has been the most impactful member of his team.

The 36-year-old owns a 1.38 goals against average and .944 save percentage which are both tops among NHL regulars who have six starts or more. Fleury has two shutouts already this season and has only lost once against seven wins.
A major factor in Fleury's success so far this season has also been how fresh he's been. Coach Pete DeBoer opened the season with a straight rotation, Robin Lehner one game and then Fleury the next.
An injury to Lehner, however, has seen Fleury play in four straight games for the Golden Knights and following Sunday's win against the Avalanche.
"I think when you look at our schedule and with Robin going down, we've asked him to play a bunch of games in a row here and he's had the energy to do it, and not only do it but do it at a really high level," said head coach Pete DeBoer. "He's been our best player through this stretch. We've got to get him some rest and get him ready for Tuesday."
So five in a row sounds likely.
Lehner had surgery in the off-season and hasn't been his characteristically steady self and now he's injured. Getting him back into action and at the standard he's established is key for Vegas.
The conversations about which netminder is No. 1 are a waste of time. Goaltending is a strength in Vegas because they have two No. 1s and they need to use both. Two goalies is the antidote to this season's compressed schedule. Vegas has six back to backs between now and the end of the regular season on May 8 and play every other day for the rest of the campaign except for a handful of situations.
The schedule will get busy and the games will become more heated. Having two goalies playing at an elite level will be a huge advantage for the Golden Knights and will be worth the $12 million salary cap investment.
Vegas is a contender in the West and as such a Stanley Cup contender. Winning the West Division playoff final would put the team just four wins away from qualifying for the championship series. Goaltending is the biggest factor in the NHL. And using both goalies in Vegas is the key to the club's ultimate goals.
Petro and MacKinnon: Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon played 22 minutes and 34 seconds Sunday and in just more than 18 minutes of that action, the Golden Knights had Alex Pietrangelo on the ice. Pietrangelo, who played just below 26 minutes Sunday, is one of the NHL's most productive blueliners and has recorded 454 points in 768 career games. But it's his ability to play at both ends of the rink which makes him so coveted.
Pietrangelo is both a threat to generate offense and a shutdown defender. Most players are one or the other. Pietrangelo is one of a handful of elite defenders who dominate all over the ice. He makes Vegas a much better team and a more dangerous group in the playoffs. The 31-year-old has only played in 10 games for the Golden Knights and his adjustment period will continue for some time. Pairing him with Alec Martinez has proven beneficial and DeBoer and Ryan McGill will have some decision making when Shea Theodore, who normally plays with Martinez, returns to the lineup. Vegas has two Norris Trophy candidates in Theodore and Pietrangelo and getting the right pairings is critical.
Theodore took off as a player when Martinez arrived in a trade last season and the two have been excellent together.
Pietrangelo started the season with the now injured Brayden McNabb.
Zach Whitecloud and Nic Hague have found chemistry and been effective all season. The other pairing Vegas is using right now consists of veteran Nick Holden and rookie Dylan Coghlan.