Fleury gets 446th win, Golden Knights rally past Blackhawks in shootout

CHICAGO -- Marc-Andre Fleury got his 446th NHL win and moved into seventh place on the all-time list in the Vegas Golden Knights' 2-1 shootout victory against Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Tuesday.

Fleury, who has won five of his past six starts, made 31 saves for Vegas (7-4-0), which forced overtime when Nick Holden scored with 1:33 remaining in the third period. The Golden Knights finished 2-1-0 on a three-game road trip.
"Yeah, it's big, you know?" Fleury said. "The standings will be close until the end of the season. It's tough to make the playoffs, and all those points we get are important. I thought our game got better as the game went on, right? We played a solid third period and very happy to see Nick Holden] get that big goal for us."
***[WATCH: [All Golden Knights vs. Blackhawks highlights]*
Kirby Dach scored his first NHL goal, and Robin Lehner made 33 saves for Chicago (2-3-2).
Dach, the No. 3 pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, gave Chicago a 1-0 lead at 16:15 of the first period near the left side of the net on a redirection of Olli Maatta's shot from the edge of the right face-off circle.
"It was a pretty cool moment," Dach said. "[I] grew up dreaming of playing in the NHL, and two games in, you've got your first goal. That's pretty special, but at the same time, pretty disappointed that we lost. My main focus is the team game, so I've got to take a step back and realize what I can do better to help the team win and move forward tomorrow."

Holden tied it 1-1 at 18:27 of the third with a shot from the right circle that squeaked between Lehner's pads.
"It's always fun in a shootout, to be able to win in those obviously they're a little more 1-on-1 than the game," Holden said. "But for us, it's huge to be able to come out of the road with two wins and go home on a good note."
Jonathan Marchessault and Shea Theodore scored in the shootout for Vegas, and Fleury made saves against Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. Jonathan Toews scored in the first round for the Blackhawks.
"Yeah, it was a grind," Marchessault said. "I mean, Chicago's a good team overall, they played super well, they limited chances off us. We just stuck with it. I felt we were working well as a group and obviously would like to generate more 5-on-5, more offensive chances. But at the end of the day, we got the win and that's what's most important."

They said it

"He's our ace. I mean, he's been outstanding all year for us and he's the reason why we're, what are we 7-4? Not even sure. But he's been incredible. He's been unbelievable." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant on goalie Marc-Andre Fleury
"Losing's not fun, but I thought we played a really good game. I really think so. I think it's a good team; Vegas is a really good team. I think we deserved a little better. I think we hit two, three posts, couple of missed opportunities, could've been different. But sometimes it's the way hockey goes, you've just got to battle through it. Obviously, they had a push in the third period. It's something we've got to work on." -- Blackhawks goalie Robin Lehner

Need to know

Fleury moved ahead of Terry Sawchuk (445) for sole possession of seventh place. … Golden Knights forward Mark Stone has eight points (four goals, four assists) in a seven-game point streak, and center Paul Stastny has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past seven games. … Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy sustained a lower-body injury and did not play in the third period. He's expected to be out two weeks. … The loss dropped the Blackhawks to 0-5-2 all-time against Vegas; they are the only team without a victory against the Golden Knights. … Dach (18 years, 274 days) became the sixth-youngest player in Blackhawks history to score his first NHL goal. … Chicago traded forward
Aleksi Saarela
to the Florida Panthers for defenseman
Ian McCoshen
during the game. Saarela had one assist in five games for Rockford of the American Hockey League; McCoshen was playing with Springfield in the AHL.

What's next

Golden Knights: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday (6 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-RM, ALT2, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSCH, NBCSP, NHL.TV)