Golden Knights’ Marc-Andre Fleury sustains lower-body injury
Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has a lower-body injury and is listed day-to-day, coach Gerard Gallant said Sunday.
The 34-year-old Fleury played all 60 minutes of a 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars on Friday but didn’t appear at the team’s morning skate Sunday.
Backup Malcolm Subban started against the Edmonton Oilers in a 6-3 victory as the Knights headed into the last 11 games of the season.
Gallant said after the game that Fleury would not travel with the team for Monday night’s game against the Sharks in San Jose.
Fleury has a .914 save percentage, a 2.46 goals-against average and leads the NHL in wins (35) and shutouts (eight). He also is tops in minutes played at 3,515:13, with a 73:30 lead on second-place Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild.
Fleury’s lead on Dubnyk shrunk this past week because he had a six-day gap between starts thanks to a break in the Knights’ schedule.
“I didn’t practice too much (last) week,” Fleury said Saturday. “I got to rest a bit and just take care of myself. I thought it was a nice time of the season. We don’t get those (breaks) very often, especially at this time of the season.”
The Knights called up goaltender Maxime Lagace from the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves on an emergency basis with Fleury injured. Lagace also was called up on an emergency basis March 10 when it appeared Fleury might need to leave the team to be with his wife, Veronique, who is expecting the couple’s third child. Lagace was sent back down later that night.
Gallant said Fleury’s current absence isn’t related to the baby.
Back to back
The Knights’ game at San Jose on Monday represents their penultimate back-to-back scenario of the season. The Sharks are locked in a duel with the Pacific Division-leading Calgary Flames while both teams own a comfortable lead over the third-place Knights.
If the standings hold, the Sharks and Knights would play in the first round of the playoffs.
“I know them and Calgary are fighting,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “They’re close in points coming down the stretch. They’re looking to get any points they can get, and we’re looking to take them away. At the same time, (we want to) just play consistent against those teams we might be facing come playoff time.”
Close matchup
The Knights and Sharks will meet for the seventh time in regular-season history Monday. Four of their first six meetings were decided by a single goal.
“They know us, we know them,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “We know we both have good teams. It’s just good games every time we play them. It’s another game like the others. We want to show up, be good against them. Let them know we’re still in the hunt.”
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.