A pair of Canadian goaltenders notched Saturday shutouts on the weekend. Canadian Olympic gold medalist Marc-Andre Fleury of Sorel, Quebec made 37 saves as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-0 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, and Darcy Kuemper of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan made 20 saves as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-0 from the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Fleury made 10 saves in the first period, 14 saves in the second period, and 13 saves in the third period. It was Fleury’s 70th career shutout and third with the Blackhawks. He previously had shutouts with the Blackhawks on November 21 in a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks and on December 9 in a 2-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Left winger Brandon Hagel of Saskatoon scored the game-winning goal for the Blackhawks at 5:33 of the second period.
On the season, Fleury now has a record of 13 wins, 11 regulation losses, and two losses in extra time. He has a goals against average of 2.73 and a save percentage of .915. With the win, the Blackhawks improve to a record of 15 wins, 18 losses and five losses in extra time for 35 points. Fleury won his gold medal for Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
Kuemper made six saves in the first period, seven saves in the second period, and seven saves in the third period for his 21st career shutout. This was however Kuemper’s first shutout with the Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon of Halifax, Nova Scotia led the Avalanche in points with three. Meanwhile, Nazem Kadri of London, Ontario also scored for Colorado.
On the season, Kuemper now has a record of 17 wins, five regulation losses, and one loss in extra time. He has a goals against average of 2.74 and a save percentage of .908. With the win, the Avalanche improved to a record of 24 wins, eight regulation losses and three losses in extra time for a Central Division leading 51 points.
