GOLDEN KNIGHTS COMPLETE NHL HISTORY WITH FIRST ROUND SWEEP
Marc-Andre Fleury (31 saves) recorded his second shutout of the series as the Golden Knights became just the third team from the NHL, NBA and MLB to complete a four-game sweep to win their first-ever playoff series – and the first to do so in their inaugural season. Elias notes that the Penguins achieved the feat in 1970 (vs. Oakland Seals), their third season in the NHL, and the MLB’s Boston Braves did so in 1914 (vs. Philadelphia Athletics), their 39th season as a franchise and the 11th in which the MLB crowned a World Series champion.

* Elias adds that only one other team has swept a best-of-seven series at any point in their first-ever postseason: the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers in 1977 (vs. Los Angeles Lakers), their seventh NBA campaign.

* Aside from the Golden Knights and Penguins, only one other NHL team required fewer than four best-of-seven series to record their first four-game sweep.



* Three other NHL teams won a playoff series in their inaugural season, all against other clubs also in their debut campaign.

* The first postseason in League history saw the Toronto Arenas win the 1918 NHL Final, a two-game total-goals series, by a 10-7 margin against the Montreal Canadiens before defeating the Pacific Coast Hockey Association's Vancouver Millionaires to win the Stanley Cup.

* During the 1968 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the first postseason in the expansion era, the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota North Stars earned Game 7 victories against the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings, respectively, to win their Quarterfinals series.

* The Golden Knights’ sweep is not only the first of its kind for a professional team in its inaugural season, but also a rare feat for any club in the Stanley Cup Playoffs over the past 10 years. Only 12.5% of series have ended after four games since 2009.



FLEURY IN FINE FORM AS HE PURSUES FOURTH STANLEY CUP
Three-time Stanley Cup champion Marc-Andre Fleury registered his second straight shutout in a potential series-clinching game, following a 2-0 victory with the Penguins in Game 7 of the 2017 Second Round at WSH. Overall, Fleury stopped 127 of 130 shots in Vegas’ historic sweep.

* Fleury earned his 66th career playoff win to move past Dominik Hasek for sole possession of 11th place on the NHL’s all-time list. He also posted his 12th career playoff shutout to tie with Terry Sawchuk for 10th place in Stanley Cup Playoffs history.

* Fleury finished the series with a 0.65 goals-against average and .977 save percentage. He is the fifth goaltender in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to win all four games of a playoff series while recording a goals-against average of 0.70 or less. The others: Pekka Rinne (0.70 GAA in 2017 FR w/ NSH), Tony Esposito (0.50 GAA in 1974 SF w/ CHI), Jean-Sebastian Giguere (0.22 GAA in 2003 CF w/ ANA) and Tuukka Rask (0.44 GAA in 2013 CF w/ BOS).

* Vegas became the 15th team in NHL history – and second in as many years – to allow three goals against or fewer in a four-game series. Only six teams in the past 39 years have achieved the feat, including the Rinne-led Predators in the 2017 First Round vs. CHI.

* Of note, only one team in NHL history has allowed three goals or fewer in a series longer than four games. The Senators allowed only two goals against in a 4-1 series win over the Flyers in the 2002 Conference Quarterfinals.

DID YOU KNOW? MCNABB NETS SERIES-CLINCHER VS. FORMER CLUB
Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb became just the fourth player in NHL history to score a series-clinching goal against the team he played for in the previous season. Elias notes that McNabb joined Gerry Ehman (1959 SF w/ TOR, vs. BOS), Jean-Francois Sauve (1984 CQF w/ QUE, vs. BUF) and Garry Valk (1999 CSF w/ TOR, vs. PIT).

HELLEBUYCK BLANKS WILD AFTER BEING NAMED VEZINA FINALIST
Fresh off being named the first Vezina Trophy finalist in club history, Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves to guide the Jets to within one victory of reaching the second round for the first time. Hellebuyck became the first goaltender in franchise history to record a playoff shutout.

* Elias notes that Hellebuyck is just the sixth netminder since 1981 to allow at least six goals in a playoff game only to shut out his opponent in the following contest. Only two other goalies have achieved the feat in the past 31 years: Martin Brodeur in the 1994 Conference Semifinals (w/ NJD) and Craig Anderson in the 2010 Conference Quarterfinals (w/ COL).



CAPITALS CUT DEFICIT WITH DOUBLE-OVERTIME WIN
The Capitals and Blue Jackets played past regulation for a third consecutive game as Lars Eller scored at 9:00 of the second overtime to help Washington cut its series deficit to 2-1. This is just the sixth series in NHL history to begin with three straight OT games.

* This marks the second straight year that the Capitals have started the postseason with three consecutive overtime games – a first in NHL history. Washington and Toronto matched a single-series an NHL record with five overtime games in the 2017 First Round, including extra time in each of the first three contests.

* Overall, this marks the 18th time in NHL history that a series has featured at least three consecutive overtime games at any point. The other five to begin with at least three straight OT games: TOR-BOS in the 1933 Semifinals (Games 1-3), TOR-MTL in the 1951 Stanley Cup Final (Games 1-5), COL-MIN in the 2008 Conference Quarterfinals (Games 1-3), PHX-CHI in the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals (Games 1-5) and TOR-WSH in the 2017 First Round (Games 1-3).

* The Capitals, who surrendered leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on Tuesday, have played past regulation in 34% of their postseason games since 2008 (34 of 100 GP), the highest percentage of any team in that span.

* John Carlson leads all defensemen and ranks tied for second in playoff scoring with 1-6—7 through three postseason contests after pacing all blueliners with 15-53—68 during the regular season. He is just the seventh blueliner in NHL history to record at least seven points through his team’s first three postseason games and first since Al MacInnis in the 1999 Conference Quarterfinals with the Blues (2-6—8).

QUICK CLICKS

· Vezina Trophy finalists unveiled

· Patrick Marleau boosting Maple Leafs with leadership entering Game 4 vs. Bruins (via Mike Zeisberger)

· Cory Schneider excited to be back in playoff mix for Devils (via Mike G. Morreale)

· Sidney Crosby's playoff numbers rival Lemieux's with Penguins

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION
The Sharks look to sweep a series for the second time in franchise history and set up a Second Round matchup with the Golden Knights – the only team to advance thus far.

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