"The way we won two games too, staying with it and battling till the end to finally get those late goals and get the win is a good feeling," Fleury said.
Owner Bill Foley went to the U.S. Military Academy, home of the Army Black Knights, and named his team in that tradition. He wanted his team to embody the character of knights -- never giving up, never giving in, always advancing, never retreating.
This is a heck of a way to start establishing that identity.
The Stars outplayed the Golden Knights, outshooting them 35-18 through two periods. But Fleury was outstanding, allowing one goal on a deflection on the power play, allowing Neal to be the hero in the third period.
The Golden Knights outplayed the Coyotes, outshooting them 30-17 through two periods. Fleury was outstanding again, allowing one goal on a rebound, keeping the Golden Knights in the game when they could not finish, not even on a 5-on-3 advantage of 1:14 in the second period, not even on a 3-on-1 rush in the third period.
Finally, a rebound trickled to the left side of the Arizona net. The puck reached Schmidt in an awkward spot. He almost had to put his stick blade between his legs to shoot it toward an open net before Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson could lunge into the lane.
"Honestly, I don't know if I got much on it," Schmidt said. "It was just one of those things that you just had to push as hard as you can and hope all those bench-press reps in the summer [would pay off]."
