Golden Knights’ Fleury shows off skills at All-Star event

TAMPA, Fla. — The Kingdom of Arendelle doesn’t have a hockey team. Don’t tell that to Marc-Andre Fleury, though.

The Golden Knights goaltender won the inaugural Saves Streak event during the NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday, stopping 14 straight breakaway attempts while “Let It Go” from the “Frozen” soundtrack played over the public-address system at Amalie Arena.

“I just thought I was going to get scored on a lot, and let it go, right?” Fleury explained. “They asked us what song we want, and I couldn’t think of anything. My daughters were around me, so I’m just going to pick a Disney song.”

Fleury had to be told by members of the Knights staff about the rules of the event beforehand and went on to edge Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, who had 13 straight saves.

Fleury faced the Atlantic Division squad and allowed a goal to Florida’s Aleksander Barkov on the second shot he faced before going on his winning run.

Fleury’s best save came on the third shot he faced when he stacked his pads and denied Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point with a glove stop.

He also got help from his posts on three occasions and rubbed the post to his left after Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov gently slipped the puck past Fleury but drew iron.

“You’ve always got to say a little thank you,” Fleury said.

Kucherov finally ended Fleury’s streak when he put the puck into the top of the net as Fleury went for the poke-check.

“It was like a game-like situation a bit. Guys were trying,” Fleury said. “It was fun.”

Knights forward James Neal finished third in the accuracy shooting contest behind winner Brock Boeser of Vancouver and New Jersey’s Brian Boyle.

Neal hit the target on his first three shots but couldn’t keep up his torrid pace.

“I was off to a hot start, and then I kind of got out of rhythm a bit and missed one,” Neal said. “It changes pretty fast on you, but it was pretty cool doing the new style with the targets lighting up.”

Aye, matey

All-Star Weekend coincided with the renowned Gasparilla Pirate Fest, and Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman got into the spirit.

Both players arrived at the arena wearing full pirate gear, and Karlsson donned on a pirate hat throughout warmups.

Hedman, who is injured and did not participate, was named an “assistant to the equipment manager” for the weekend’s festivities.

Dance party

Alex Ovechkin was asked Saturday morning at media day why teams have struggled at T-Mobile Arena, where the Knights are a league-best 19-3-2.

The Capitals captain provided a memorable answer.

“It’s not a regular rink. It’s kind of like an unbelievable show, you get excited,” he said. “It’s like you’re in a nightclub. It’s like a party. Everybody dancing over there. It’s like, ‘Holy Jesus, are we in a hockey game, or is this like a pool party out there?’ ”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.