The rumors of the Vegas Golden Knights’ demise have been greatly exaggerated.
On Sunday, Marc-Andre Fleury made 19 saves to pick his second straight shut, 3-0.
“Last game was busier and [there were] more scoring chances,” said Fleury, who has not allowed a goal in 168:43, the longest shutout streak of his NHL career. “The guys dominated from start to finish [today] and played very well. We had the puck a lot and controlled play.”
All the scoring came in the middle frame when Max Pacioretty, Ryan Carpenter and Reilly Smith potted goals.
“I feel like we’re getting our confidence back,” Carpenter said. “Anytime you win games, it’s contagious playing that style of hockey.”
The Knights have won four straight and are eight points clear of the Arizona Coyotes.
“You can’t just limp in. You have to have that confidence so that when it comes to playoff time, you really just shut your brain off,” Vegas’ Nate Schmidt said. “It’s muscle memory at that point. You make the plays you’ve made all year and if you have the confidence to make them, you’ll make them. If you don’t, you won’t.”
The Canucks have gone cold and are 3-8-3 in their last 14 matches.
“We weren’t good,” Canucks defenseman Ben Hutton said. “We can’t be doing that to [Markstrom]. He had such a great game. To put up a goose egg for him, that hurts even more.”
[WATCH: All Canucks vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Jacob Markstrom made 45 saves in the loss.
“Obviously, we’re confident that he’s in net, but we have to play better in front of him, as well. I think we’ve been leaning on him too much. He’s been unbelievable for us all year, and we’ve got to start scoring some goals for him,” Bo Horvat said.
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