Alex Tuch continues goal-scoring streak for Golden Knights

There are hot streaks in the NHL. And then there is whatever groove Alex Tuch is in.

The Golden Knights wing has a goal in four straight games to tie for the team lead with 12 with Max Pacioretty. Only six players in the NHL have scored more goals.

It’s been the best stretch of Tuch’s career and one of the best in team history. He kept it going with a two-goal performance in Saturday’s 4-0 win over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose, California.

“Honestly, probably a little bit of puck luck,” Tuch said. “I’m just trying to go out there, play my game. Play hard. Play fast. Try to have as much chemistry with my linemates (as possible).”

Only three other Knights players have matched Tuch’s goal-scoring streak. Pacioretty scored in four straight games last season. Center William Karlsson has a four- and five-game streak. Center Erik Haula scored in five consecutive games in the inaugural season.

With the way Tuch is playing, it would be hard to bet against him matching Karlsson’s and Haula’s team record. Tuch was all over the ice Saturday and had several opportunities to score his first career hat trick.

Tuch finished with a season-high six shots on goal. He’s had more in a game only five times in his career. He passed up a seventh in the third period on a two-on-one with Pacioretty, sliding the puck across rather than going for another goal.

The Knights started double shifting him in the second period because he was so active once captain Mark Stone left the game for precautionary reasons.

Tuch’s shooting percentage of 27.3 percent, well above his career mark of 10.7 percent, implies he can’t keep this up forever. But he doesn’t have to. If he can keep chipping in goals consistently every few games from the third line, it would do wonders for a team that was in need of secondary scoring in the Western Conference semifinals and finals last season.

The Knights can’t rely solely on Pacioretty for goals in the postseason. Tuch’s recent stretch suggests they might not have to.

“(My linemates have) been giving me opportunities to score,” Tuch said. “I’ve just been capitalizing on it.”

Here are three other takeaways from the win:

1. Fleury shines again

Marc-Andre Fleury, after getting a game off Friday, delivered another excellent performance against the Sharks.

Fleury earned his NHL-leading fourth shutout of the season and the 65th of his career, the 16th most all time. He also passed Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy for the lowest goals-against average in the NHL among goalies with more than four starts.

Fleury’s GAA is 1.60, and Vasilevskiy’s is 1.66. They are tied for first in save percentage at .942.

“This (stretch) feels nice,” Fleury said. “Obviously, I’m very fortunate to play and be on a great team. The guys in front of me battled hard and helped me a lot throughout the night.”

2. Sneaking in rest

The Knights’ March schedule is packed with 17 games, including three back to backs.

Coach Pete DeBoer tried to rest some players Saturday because of that with his team leading 3-0 after two periods. Fourth-line wings William Carrier (11:49) and Ryan Reaves (13:44) received their most playing time of the season. Fourth-line center Tomas Nosek (13:50) played his second-most minutes. They played extra shifts to give the rest of the forwards a break.

On the blue line, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo played his fewest minutes of the season (20:34). The score and schedule also played a role in the decision to not play Stone in the third period after he went to the locker room in the second for what DeBoer called precautionary reasons.

“We talked at the end of the second period about him potentially coming back,” DeBoer said. “With the score and with what we’ve got ahead this week, we made the decision not to push it.”

3. Burns struggles

Sharks defenseman Brent Burns will want to burn Saturday’s game film.

The 2017 Norris Trophy winner was on the ice for all four goals. It marked just the seventh time in 1,135 games that Burns finished with a minus-four rating.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.