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Fleury leads Penguins past Kings in OT with NHL-leading ninth shutout

Marc-Andre Fleury, Nick Shore

Marc-Andre Fleury, Nick Shore

AP

The Kings heavily outshot the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, but Los Angeles didn’t have goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury on its side and tonight he was the difference. Fleury kicked out all 31 Kings shots until finally Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist broke the scoreless tie in overtime.

Fleury was on a bit of a rough patch going into this game with three goals surrendered in each of his last three starts, but he’s been phenomenal overall this season with a 2.16 GAA and .924 save percentage. This was his ninth shutout of 2014-15, which is both the best in the NHL and just one away from doubling his old career high.

He also reached the 30-win mark for the sixth straight season, excluding the lockout shortened campaign. At the age of 30, he’s already accumulated 318 career wins, which puts him one shy of Miikka Kiprusoff and 25th place on the all-time list.

Of course, many of Fleury’s previous campaigns were impressive and that didn’t always translated to playoff success, but from a statistical perspective he’s never been this good in a regular season before.

Pittsburgh is now just three points behind the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Islanders, but this game was even more critical for Los Angeles. The defending Stanley Cup champions are a point back from the Calgary Flames and third place in the Pacific Division and three points shy of the second Wild Card seed.

Related:

Penguins prospect Murray posts fourth straight AHL shutout

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