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The Buzzer: Vesey leads Maple Leafs; Fleury and Raanta shine

NHL Scores

EDMONTON, AB - MARCH 3: Jimmy Vesey #26 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates after a goal during the game against the Edmonton Oilers on March 3, 2021 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

Three Stars

1. Jimmy Vesey, Toronto Maple Leafs. Vesey entered Wednesday’s game in Edmonton with just two goals this season and none in his previous 17 games. Then he found the back of the net twice to help the Maple Leafs jump out to an early 2-0 lead on their way to another rout of the Edmonton Oilers. All of the Maple Leafs’ depth was on display this week, and especially on Wednesday night. Read more about Vesey’s game and Toronto’s win here.

2. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights. Fleury has never won the Vezina Trophy or even been a finalist for it in his career. It is pretty. much the only thing his career is missing at this point. Could this be the year he at least makes the top-three? He is making quite the argument for it so far and continued his brilliant season on Wednesday night by stopping 36 out of 37 shots in the Golden Knights’ dominant 5-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. His save percentage is now over .938 for the season as he has clearly won back his starting job.

3. Antti Raanta, Arizona Coyotes. Raanta has not played much this season, and when he has it has been a bit of a struggle. But he was sensational on Wednesday night in a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings, turning aside 40 of the 42 shots he faced for his best start of the season. When he is healthy and at his best he can be one of the most productive goalies in the league and form a really solid duo alongside Darcy Kuemper. This game is a good example of what he is capable of.

Other Notable Performances From Wednesday

• The Washington Capitals put on a defensive clinic in Zdeno Chara’s return to Boston while Jakub Vrana scored the game-winning goal in the shootout. Read all about that game here.

• It is a huge night for the St. Louis Blues special teams as they go three-for-three on the power play and three-for-three on the penalty kill in a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks. It is their third win in a row. Read all about that game here.

• Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog both had four points for the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-0 win over the San Jose Sharks. The bad news for the Avalanche is Nathan MacKinnon had to leave the game after he was hit in the head by San Jose’s Joachim Blichfeld. You can see that play here.

Highlights Of The Night

All of the highlights from the Washington Capitals 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins.

All of the highlights from the St. Louis Blues 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

The quick glove save from Fleury on Jared Spurgeon.

Scores

Washington Capitals 2, Boston Bruins 1 (SO)
Toronto Maple Leafs 6, Edmonton Oilers 1
St. Louis Blues 3, Anaheim Ducks 2
Arizona Coyotes 3, Los Angeles Kings 2
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Minnesota Wild 1
Colorado Avalanche 4, San Jose Sharks 0

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.