Fleury loses Blackhawks debut against Kuemper, Avalanche

Marc-Andre Fleury lost his Chicago Blackhawks debut, 4-2 to the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday.

The reigning Vezina Trophy winner as the best goalie in the NHL last season, Fleury was traded to the Blackhawks by the Vegas Golden Knights on July 27. He allowed three goals in the first period and finished with 32 saves.
"Obviously not the start we wanted to have to the game," Chicago coach Jeremy Colliton said. "I thought the first couple of shifts were OK, had a couple of chances. But when they scored the first one, it felt like the game got out of control for most of that first period and then we're in a big hole."
Darcy Kuemper, who was acquired by the Avalanche in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on July 28, made 32 saves in his Colorado debut. Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri and Bowen Byram each had a goal and an assist.
"Obviously, he's a legend and a Hall of Famer," Kuemper said of Fleury. "It's always an honor to play against him every time. Someone I look up to for sure, but it's always special beating him."
Dominik Kubalik and Connor Murphy scored for Chicago in the season opener for each team.
The Avalanche played without Nathan MacKinnon after the center tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
Jack Johnson gave Colorado a 1-0 lead when he skated in alone after taking a pass from J.T. Compher along the boards and put a backhand past Fleury at 4:26.

Landeskog made it 2-0 at 5:48 after Erik Johnson's shot from the blue line deflected off Landeskog, who was in front of the net.
Byram's first NHL goal extended the Avalanche lead to 3-0 at 9:34. Landeskog took the puck in the defensive zone, skated it out and passed to Byram, who scored from the left face-off circle.
The 20-year-old defenseman was the No. 4 pick at the 2019 NHL Draft.
"Really excited," Byram said. "Obviously it's something you dream about for a long time, and (it's) also nice to get it out of the way. I think it was a fun game and we did a pretty good job out there."

Kubalik scored a power-play goal for the Blackhawks at 16:47 of the first to make it 3-1.
Nazem Kadri gave Colorado a 4-1 lead on a rebound at 16:12 of the second period.
Murphy scored at 15:31 of the third for the 4-2 final.
Avalanche assistant coach Ray Bennett filled in for coach Jared Bednar, who is also in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
"Really good start by us, obviously," Bennett said. "I thought the first 10 or 12 minutes of the game were almost a script in terms of our effort and energy and execution, and real good emotional engagement."
Kuemper made two key saves against Blackhawks center Kirby Dach during the second period to preserve a 3-1 lead. The first came on a breakaway at 12:01 after Dach stole the puck from Samuel Girard at the blue line. Kuemper denied Dach again at 15:45 on a 2-on-1, and Kadri scored on the ensuing rush the other way.
"You just try to stay patient," Kuemper said. "Obviously he's a really skilled young player with a good shot. I just tried to stay patient and read his release.
"It was a lot of fun to finally play a real game with this group. You know, (there's) a lot of talent in this locker room, so it's fun to be a part of and it's always fun to start off with a big win with the season and just got to keep building out."
NOTES: Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews, who missed all of last season because of chronic immune response syndrome, had two shots on goal in 17:15 of ice time. … Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said MacKinnon could return against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. MacKinnon finished eighth in the NHL with 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists) and was plus-22 in 48 games last season. He finished third in voting for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. "He's asymptomatic and feeling good ... but hopefully he'll be able to test out," Sakic said.