Do Golden Knights Have the Guts to Keep Marc-Andre Fleury in Goal?

Vegas also has Robin Lehner on their roster. He’s a more-than capable goaltender, arguably as good as Fleury and while he had one poor outing in Game 1 to open the door for Fleury to take the net, Lehner likely wants it back. The Golden Knights have rotated their goaltenders for much of the season and rotating goalies is tricky and thing to do well, especially in the playoffs if one netminder gets hot.

And, to say Fleury is hot would be an understatement. He’s made 63 of 65 saves. In many cases, these weren’t just your average, ordinary shots on goal. Many of them were high-scoring danger chances that any other goalie probably would have let it. Jonathan Marchessault said of Fleury’s performances, “He gives us a chance to win every night.” He added:

“He stood on his head in the first period and was great all game. It was kind of a tough loss in Game 1, 1-0 in overtime. He played great so we wanted to get him a win. He kept us in it in the first period, so it was all in his honor and he definitely deserved the first star tonight.”

“He’s played like that all year for us,” DeBoer said of Fleury. “He’s been consistently excellent all season, so for me, he’s just doing what he did all year.”

Speaking of how things have gone all year, Lehner has become used to how things work in Vegas with two high-end goalies making big bucks. As Jesse Granger points out in a recent article for The Athletic, “When both goalies were healthy, DeBoer alternated their starts for essentially the entire regular season, and both goalies played exceptionally.” How many games will Fleury get before Lehner gets antsy?

Can Lehner Stay Supportive?

This is not to suggest Lehner would intentionally stir the pot. That said, he’s a competitive and outspoken goalie who knows he’s good. He’s got experience as a backup and he’ll be ready if called upon, but these are two goalies who just a year ago, not everyone figured would last long-term competing for the Golden Knights net. So far, things have been good and each has supported the other. Perhaps it lasts.

That said, what if Fleury continues to stay hot and doesn’t open the door for Lehner to get the net back? Granger also notes, at some point, if Fleury keeps the net, there will be conversations about what to do with Lehner and Lehner will likely start thinking about where he fits. Granger writes:

Egos and emotions are involved, and during the Stanley Cup playoffs, those are at their peak. But there might not be a tandem more equipped to do it. The key is finding the best way to rotate them. I think DeBoer and his coaching staff have been searching for that answer for more than a year, dating back to last postseason.