FLEURY RETURNS TO VEGAS FOR FIRST TIME WITH BLACKHAWKS

Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will face the Golden Knights for the first time since they traded him to Chicago prior to the 2021-22 season. Vegas (23-13-1, 47 points) enters the contest holding down first place in the Western Conference standings, while Fleury has posted an 8-4-2 record across his past 14 games (2.46 GAA, .921 SV%) after starting the season with one win in his first eight appearances.

* Fleury was an integral part of the franchise’s record-breaking inaugural season in 2017-18 that saw Vegas become the first modern-era expansion team from any of the four North American professional sports leagues to start from scratch and finish first in its division (excluding mergers and all-expansion divisions), while so backstopping the club on a Cinderella playoff run to the Stanley Cup Final.

* During Fleury’s tenure with the Golden Knights from 2017-18 to 2020-21, Vegas had more regular-season wins and points than any Western Conference team. Meanwhile, he posted a 117-60-14 record (2.41 GAA, .917 SV%) and an NHL-best 23 shutouts over that span.

* In his final season with the Golden Knights in 2020-21, Fleury won his first career Vezina Trophy and shared the William M. Jennings Trophy with Robin Lehner in a campaign that saw the then 36-year-old post his best single-season goals-against average (1.98) and save percentage (.928).

* Fleury, in his 18th NHL season, continues to climb all-time lists: on Dec. 9, he became the third goaltender in NHL history to reach 500 wins and enters Saturday one appearance shy of tying Glenn Hall (906 GP) for seventh on the League’s all-time games played list among goaltenders.

BUCHNEVICH, BLUES CONTINUE RECENT STRING OF SUCCESS
Pavel Buchnevich(2-1—3) notched his second three-point outing of the season to propel the Blues (20-10-5, 45 points) past Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals (20-7-8, 48 points). St. Louis extended its home point streak to 11 contests and has recorded only three longer stretches in franchise history (21 GP in 2011-12, 14 GP in 2016-17 and 12 GP in 2000-01).

SKJEI HELPS HURRICANES PRODUCE ANOTHER OFFENSIVE OUTBURST

Brady Skjei (1-2—3) collected multiple points for the second straight game as the Hurricanes (24-7-1, 49 points) moved into second place in the NHL standings, where Nos. 1-8 are separated by five points. After scoring seven times to erase a four-goal deficit in their last outing on Jan. 1, Carolina benefited from another strong showing Friday.

NHL PODCAST HOLIDAY ROUNDUP

* Fantasy on Ice: Dec. 28, Dec. 30, Jan. 3 and Jan. 6
* NHL @TheRink: Dec. 28 and Jan. 5
* The Chirp (12/30): Eddie Olczyk talks about broadcasting his 11th Winter Classic
* The Chirp (1/6): Jack Hughes explains how the Devils are building toward something special
* Soul On Ice (1/5): Mathieu Joseph shares thoughts on winning back-to-back Stanley Cups

QUICK CLICKS 

* The NHL mourns the passing of Teddy Balkind
* #NHLStats: Live Updates – Friday, Jan. 7, 2022
* NHL postpones two additional games due to Canadian attendance restrictions
* 2022 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic logo unveiled
* NHL All-Star Fan Vote ends Saturday

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.