After being shut out by the Vegas Golden Knights' goaltender in Game 1, the Sharks needed until the second period of Game 2 to score on Fleury, courtesy of a howitzer off the stick of Brent Burns that took a couple bounces along the way.
Fleury recorded a shutout in Game 4 of his team's first-round series against Los Angeles, meaning his streak lasted more than seven full periods, as confirmed in typical Vegas Twitter fashion.
That ends Fleury's streak of 144 minutes and 4 seconds without allowing a goal
Vancouver general manager Jim Benning said the Canucks wanted to send their mascot, "Fin," to represent them at the NHL Draft Lottery in Toronto on Saturday, but the league said no, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Benning ended up making the trip, and the Canucks fell to seventh overall.
This decision comes despite the fact Ottawa fell to the fourth overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery.
The Senators finished 30th overall and therefore seemed lined up to get the second overall pick, or even move up to the one-spot.
Ottawa was leapfrogged by Montreal and Carolina, however, but it's a good enough pick that Dorion will defer until next year, hoping his team will be much improved.
Prior to Game 2 between Vegas and San Jose, the NHL revealed the teams that will make selections 4-15.
Pick
Team
4
Ottawa Senators
5
Arizona Coyotes
6
Detroit Red Wings
7
Vancouver Canucks
8
Chicago Blackhawks
9
New York Rangers
10
Edmonton Oilers
11
New York Islanders
12
New York Islanders (from Calgary)
13
Dallas Stars
14
Philadelphia Flyers (from St. Louis)
15
Florida Panthers
The order of the remaining three teams - Carolina, Montreal, and Buffalo - will be announced during the second intermission of Saturday night's game.
As a reminder, the Flyers received a first-round pick from St. Louis in the Brayden Schenn trade, while the Islanders got Calgary's pick in the Travis Hamonic deal.
Carolina is the big mover here, finishing 21st overall but leapfrogging into the top three. Montreal made a modest jump as well after finishing 27th.
On the downside, Ottawa and Arizona dropped two spots each, with Vancouver, Chicago, the Rangers, and Edmonton also bumped down one slot apiece.
Head coach Guy Boucher will meet with general manager Pierre Dorion Monday to discuss how the club will rebound from a disappointing regular season.
"It’s a conversation for the next step," Dorion said Saturday afternoon on Sportsnet, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. "We knew we weren’t going to be in the playoffs for a long time, we decided to have an evaluation top-to-bottom of our hockey team."
At the conclusion of the campaign, Dorion did not confirm whether or not Boucher will be back behind the bench come training camp, saying "if" Boucher returns, he'll have to put younger players in the lineup and increase practice time.
Now that the dust has settled, it's time to see where they stand.
"Guy’s a very good coach," Dorion said. "He did a tremendous job last year. Even this year I thought he did a very good job, but at the same time we have to evaluate everyone. We’re going to sit down with Guy. When we had a meeting with the coaches, we probably did a bit more of the talking. This time we’re going to let Guy explain how can we be better moving forward."
One year after advancing to the Eastern Conference finals, the Senators finished 30th in the overall standings.
The Boston Bruins goaltender was scored on by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday while dealing with a skate blade issue, and was visibly incensed that play was allowed to go on.
The officials assured him they just didn't see the broken blade.
Tuukka Rask on the broken skate blade leading to the 2nd Tampa goal: “The refs told me if they’d seen it they would have blown it dead.”
The NHL confirmed there is no rule for referees to stop play for a broken piece of equipment, regardless of whether the equipment belongs to a goaltender or a skater. The only exception here is goalie helmets.
According to NHL director of officiating supervision Stephen Walkom, there's some wiggle room on the official ruling.
"The refs will use common sense," Walkom told NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "If Boston gets control of the puck, they will probably kill the play, but at no time will they disadvantage the opposing team."
The Bruins didn't touch the puck before Mikhail Sergachev deposited it into the net, but in the end, it didn't matter, as Boston cruised to a 6-2 win.
Pastrnak's four points put him first among all players this postseason, now one ahead of Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel and two ahead of Sidney Crosby. Marchand's now up to fourth, while Bergeron ranks fifth.
Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask lost his cool during the second period of Game 1 in Tampa Bay immediately after being scored on by the Lightning.
The issue wasn't interference or a high stick, but rather that he had been playing with a broken skate blade for a few moments and was therefore hindered from making the save.
According to NHL rule 14.1, "Play shall not be stopped nor the game delayed by reasons of adjustments to clothing, equipment, skates or sticks. The onus of maintaining clothing and equipment in proper condition shall be upon the player. If adjustments are required, the player shall leave the ice and play shall continue with a substitute."
That's one thing in relation to skaters, but there's no exception for goalies.
"No delay shall be permitted for the repair or adjustment of goalkeeper's equipment. If adjustments are required, the goalkeeper shall leave the ice and his place shall be taken by the substitute goalkeeper immediately."
While eight clubs continue to battle for their chance to drink from the Stanley Cup, on Saturday night, the bottom 15 NHL clubs get their opportunity to celebrate: the draft lottery.
The league will reveal which team has the right to select first overall in this year's entry draft, allowing them to land highly coveted prospect Rasmus Dahlin.
As is the case with any lottery, the outcome is sure to produce some disappointment, but with such a game-changing defenseman up for grabs, a few outcomes would be particularly devastating for some teams and fans.
Here are the four most aggravating potential results from the draft lottery.
4. Islanders win with Flames' pick
It's not often that a lottery team hopes its name isn't called, but that may be exactly how the Calgary Flames feel.
The Flames have the 12th-best chance to win (2.5 percent), but they traded that pick to the New York Islanders last offseason as part of the Travis Hamonic deal - meaning the Islanders have two chances to walk away with a lottery selection.
Calgary fell out of a playoff spot toward the end of the year, leading to head coach Glen Gulutzan's firing. It would add insult to injury for Flames fans if they missed out on potentially drafting first overall.
While running the draft simulator at Tankathon.com, we actually produced a scenario where the Islanders won the first and second overall selections.
Can you imagine?
3. Sabres can't catch a break
The Buffalo Sabres are that person who picks the same lottery numbers every week and only wins a free play, while their wealthier peers take home the big prizes.
Things just never seem to go the Sabres' way, no matter how hard they try to put themselves in position to get the top selection.
That was never more apparent than in 2015. After finishing the year with a league-worst 54 points, the team lost out on the first overall pick and had to settle for second.
The consolation prize was Jack Eichel - who's on the way to being an elite talent in his own right - but watching Connor McDavid go to the Oilers must have been gut-wrenching.
The Sabres enter Saturday with the best chance at snagging the first overall pick. There's no way they miss out again ... is there?
2. Blackhawks hit the jackpot
The Chicago Blackhawks have won three Stanley Cups in the last seven years. Come on.
The team just missed the postseason for the first time since 2007-08. Chicago can blame an injury to goaltender Corey Crawford, who didn't play after Dec. 23, and some underperforming players.
With some better puck luck and their No. 1 goalie healthy, there is no reason the Blackhawks can't quickly return to contention. Watching them pick first overall thanks to one down year would be infuriating for the rest of the league.
1. Oilers win ... again
If the Edmonton Oilers somehow win the draft lottery again, listen closely and you might be able to hear the groans from every other fan base.
Since 2010, the Oilers have selected first overall four times, including a three-year run from 2010-12.
Year
Player Picked
Chance at Winning
2010
Taylor Hall
25%
2011
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
25%
2012
Nail Yakupov
18.8%
2015
Connor McDavid
11.5%
What's even worse - depending on how you look at it - is that the Oilers don't have much to show for all that luck. Last season marked the first time the club made the playoffs in 11 years, but the team fell out of the picture again this season. Meanwhile, Taylor Hall (now a Hart Trophy nominee) and Nail Yakupov (now a healthy scratch in the playoffs) are both playing elsewhere.
If Edmonton wins again, you can bet fans will demand new rules to prevent that kind of draft dominance, no matter how conflicted Oilers fans may feel about the results.
Following reports that Buffalo Sabres rookie forward Casey Mittelstadt would be part of the American squad at the upcoming World Championship, the Minnesota native was conspicuously absent when Team USA announced its final roster Saturday.
Mittelstadt spent the 2017-18 campaign with the University of Minnesota, where he scored 30 points in 34 games. He was also a key contributor for the Americans at last year's World Junior Championship.
Following the college season, Mittelstadt closed out his campaign in Buffalo, where he notched five points in six games.
The 19-year-old is expected to play a key role with the Sabres next year. Buffalo selected Mittelstadt with the eighth pick in the 2017 draft.
