Fleury has been brilliant and from layperson's perspective, it appears goaltending coach Mike Rosati has tweaked his game just a bit and has Fleury playing slightly deeper in the crease. The result: Fleury has more time before shots are upon him and he's still within the confines of the blue ice when the opposition attempts to pass across him or if a rebound becomes available.
Fleury sits second in the NHL in goaltending stats with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage.
So far, head coach Pete DeBoer has gone with a straight rotation and has two rested and healthy goalies.
"As long as it works, we're not going to change it," said DeBoer. "It gives us the benefit of a fresh goaltender every night at the most important position. I don't foresee us overthinking this.
There's a healthy competition between the two and a sharing of the workload and pressure. Goaltending might very well be the biggest strength on a Vegas roster loaded with talent.
Kids on the blueline: The duo of Zach Whitecloud and Nic Hague have now seen action together in three games this season and they've been outstanding. In fact, if their play as a third pair continues at this level, an argument can be made claiming Vegas has the best blueline corps in the NHL.
The top pairings of Alex Pietrangelo and Brayden McNabb as well as Shea Theodore and Alec Martinez provides offense and experience. Having Whitecloud and Hague excel provides DeBoer with depth and allows Vegas to spread out the minutes and keep the workloads of its top horses out of the high 20s in minutes per game.
Hague's confidence has grown and he's become more aggressive in the offensive zone and more physical in the defensive end. Seeing Whitecloud make the move from the AHL to the NHL with such aplomb was a confidence booster for Hague. The pair played together with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL and they communicate well on the ice. Hague has more offensive upside while Whitecloud is a complete player.
Petro settling in: Sunday's 1-0 win against the Arizona Coyotes might have been the best game so far for Pietrangelo since arriving in Vegas. He looked more comfortable and composed up and down the ice. He's an elite player with experience and talent but there's an adjustment when joining a new team.
"When you play the same system for 750 games or so, it becomes habit," he said. "It's only been six games. I'm learning Pete's system and it's getting more comfortable."
Power outage: The one glaring area for Vegas right now is the power play which is operating at just 10 percent. DeBoer is quite right when he preaches patience in this areas as the Golden Knights are using new personnel while incorporating fresh concepts. It will get better. DeBoer switched up the personnel during practice Monday with Chandler Stephenson getting his first regular looks this season.
Wolfpack: On a number of occasions this season, the Golden Knights have iced a five-player unit made up of skaters who have all played for the organization's AHL affiliate. Hague, Whitecloud, Alex Tuch, Nic Roy and Keegan Kolesar all have games with the Chicago Wolves on their resume.
