Golden Knights fans banged on the glass and roared with approval Wednesday night when all 180 pounds of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury set his stick down and loosened his gloves as he stared down Calgary’s David Rittich at the opposing blue line.
Everyone loves a goalie fight.
Well, maybe not everyone.
Defenseman Nate Schmidt refused to even speculate how his teammate would have fared had Fleury’s fists started flying.
“I (would have) tackled him before it ever happened,” Schmidt said at practice Thursday. “Seriously, that’s not going to happen.”
It was a similar sentiment expressed by coach Gerard Gallant after a 2-1 win over the Pacific Division-leading Flames, a game in which Fleury’s career-long shutout streak ended at 200:30 despite recording his fourth straight win.