Marc-Andre Fleury looks good, plays even better in first start

Marc-Andre Fleury admitted he was nervous before his first start of the season.

He wasn’t worried about the Anaheim Ducks. He was concerned his gold pads and helmet would clash with the Golden Knights’ gold jerseys.

Those fears soon washed away, however.

“I think on TV it looked pretty good,” Fleury said. “A few guys had compliments.”

Any doubts about how Fleury would perform in his first game since Sept. 6 soon evaporated, too. Look good, play good, as they say. Fleury made 21 saves in a 2-1 overtime victory for the 467th win of his career.

“When they were up 1-0, we tried to open it up and push a little bit, and that led to some Grade As,” Knights coach Pete DeBoer said. “He made a couple huge saves to keep it at 1-0 and give us a chance. He was real solid.”

The Knights had defensive breakdowns in their second game, but Fleury kept them in it. The Ducks took a 1-0 lead on a three-on-one in the second period and had chances to put the game away in the third.

Fleury stopped a shot from left wing Rickard Rakell in the slot and later stoned Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf after defenseman Alec Martinez turned the puck over in the neutral zone. Both saves kept the game close enough to set up a late comeback.

“(Fleury) made so many saves, it just seemed like it was bound to happen,” left wing Max Pacioretty said.

Center William Karlsson tied the score with 1:22 left in the third, and Pacioretty won it seven seconds into overtime. Both goals were meaningful because of the performance of Fleury, who is 17 wins behind Ed Belfour for the fourth most all time.

“Just trying to do my part to keep the guys in the game and keep the score close so we have a chance to come back,” Fleury said.

Here are three more takeaways from the win:

1. Third line locks it down

The Knights’ youngest — but biggest — line is showing plenty of potential.

Left wing Alex Tuch (24), center Cody Glass (21) and right wing Nicolas Roy (23), the team’s third line, was on the ice for 7:48 at five-on-five. The Ducks didn’t attempt a shot in that time.

Tuch, Glass and Roy have used their size and speed to poach pucks in the neutral zone and take them the other way. Glass, at 6 feet 2 inches, is the shortest among the three.

The next step for them is better execution in the offensive zone. They’re still learning to play together because Tuch missed a lot of time in training camp with an undisclosed injury.

If they figure that out and start scoring, they could provide the Knights with a sizable depth advantage most nights.

2. PK starts strong

Some of the Knights’ best chances before the end of the third period came when they were down a man.

The team’s penalty kill had three high-danger scoring chances and allowed none in its two appearances. Right wing Reilly Smith had two opportunities to score and nearly set up Karlsson for a breakaway. Center Chandler Stephenson got behind the defense after a pass from right wing Mark Stone, but goaltender John Gibson turned him aside.

Stephenson reached 22 mph on his breakaway, according to the AT&T Sportsnet broadcast.

3. Where are the whistles?

The Knights’ power-play units have a new look, but they haven’t gotten to use them much.

The Ducks were whistled for one penalty Saturday after taking just one Thursday. DeBoer didn’t sound thrilled about that after the game.

“I’m a little at a loss why we’re not drawing some more penalties,” he said.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.