Fleury, Tuch have big games in Vegas' shutout of Colorado

Colorado Avalanche’s TV play-by-play caller Marc Moser sounded like a broken record while calling the latest contest between two of the top West Division teams in the National Hockey League.

“Saved by Fleury!” was the constantly repeated phrase from Moser as the Knights, led by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and right-wing Alex Tuch, shut out the Avalanche, 3-0 Monday, Feb. 22.

“You look at his resume, and he doesn’t have the numbers and the Stanley Cup championships that he has by accident,” head coach Pete DeBoer said. "There were a couple huge momentum saves, when we’re up 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 that if he lets one in at that point, they grab some momentum. That team can turn one into two or three pretty quickly.”

The win gets Vegas back on track and moves them to 11-4-1 on the season and first place in the West Division.

Next up, Vegas travels West to San Jose to take on the Sharks on Thursday, Feb. 25. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.

After suffering back-to-back defeats to Colorado with poor offensive showings, Vegas righted the ship Monday and dominated possession from start to finish.

Tuch scored two goals in the second.

Center Johnathan Marchessault scored the game’s final goal to put the Avalanche away halfway through the second period.

Fleury had another dominant showing and displayed some timeless athleticism on plays that made Colorado throw their hands up in disbelief.

Toward the end of the first period, Vegas lost track of a Colorado player coming onto the ice. The puck was swung across Fleury’s field of view to the other side of the ice and was shot towards Fleury’s blindside.

Fleury on his side and kicked his leg up to deflect the puck over the net and rob the Avalanche of a 1-0 lead.

The man affectionately known as “Flower’s” utter dominance this season has made him the unquestionable number one goalie for Vegas moving forward. At least as it stands today.

He finished with 34 saves including some highlight-worthy plays.

But most importantly, he prevented Colorado from ever getting comfortable in the offensive zone.

Vegas, Fleury and the rest of the Golden Knights can take a deep breath of fresh air as they escape the high-altitude of Colorado for another month before playing the Avalanche again.