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‘Ladies & Gentlemen, In Goal for Pittsburgh, Marc-Andre Fleury’
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- ‘Ladies & Gentlemen, In Goal for Pittsburgh, Marc-Andre Fleury’
‘Ladies & Gentlemen, In Goal for Pittsburgh, Marc-Andre Fleury’
With the above words, a magical moment commenced — even though there had been some notable moments beforehand Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena for Marc-Andre Fleury , the Pittsburgh Penguins and the 18,333 in attendance.
Fleury, the former Penguins franchise goalie, donned the black and gold, including throwback gaudy yellow pads, for a special night and one last goodbye as he heads into retirement.
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"A little surreal, a little crazy, but still also comfortable," Fleury said. "Every time I played here with other teams, I always felt a little bit weird coming in and playing here. This time it felt normal, like it used to. A little bit of nerves, too. I didn't want to mess up for the guys. I wanted to keep them in the game."
He did. Fleury, 40, played the third period of a 4-1 Penguins preseason win over the Columbus Blue Jackets and stopped all eight shots he faced. The teams had agreed to hold a shootout after regulation regardless of the score. Fleury gave up the only shot, the final one of the six-player shootout, but that ended up being a forgettable footnote.
All through the night, there were several ovations and lots of celebratory chants.
"It felt like a playoff game," Penguins center Sidney Crosby , a longtime teammate and friend of Fleury's, said. "And then just to bring back all of us who've experienced being part of it here with what he's done over the years, it's pretty cool."
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Fleury signed a tryout contract with the Penguins for training camp, a ceremonial gesture that allowed him to practice with the team Friday and play the third period (and the pre-scheduled shootout) Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena.
It was a way for the soon-to-be Hall of Famer to get in one last goodbye, one last time playing for the Penguins and with fellow stars Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang and in front of Penguins fans.
Fleury seemed to feel a combination of thrilled, appreciative and a little embarrassed. He had done some goodbye laps and appearances already during what he had previously announced would be his final NHL season, 2024-25, with Minnesota .
"The welcome from the fans … every time I touched the puck … a dump-in and everyone would cheer. It was crazy," Fleury said.
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"I'm glad my (three) kids were here, my wife, my sister, my mom. A special night for sure."
It wasn't clear who enjoyed the spectacle, which included a practice with the Penguins on Friday, more — Fleury or the Penguins players.
"Flower is a person that's so revered in this organization, in the city," Penguins winger Bryan Rust said, using Fleury's widely used nickname. "He doesn't necessarily want the attention, but he appreciates it. Everybody had so much fun around him."
Crosby, who had a goal and two assists, scored in the second to tie it 1-1, and Rakell Rickard scored with 1.6 seconds left in the second to give Fleury a 2-1 lead to work with in the third.
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The ovations started when he led the team out for the start of the third and continued when it came over the PA: "Ladies and gentlemen, in goal for Pittsburgh, No. 29 Marc-Andre Fleury."
At times there were chants of "One more year." Rust joked afterward, "He looked pretty good. Sign him up."
Fleury had made it clear his retirement is permanent. He doubled down afterward.
"Thank you, but I'm tired," he said. "My hip's sore. I'm going to take a little break."
Next public stop might be his Hall of Fame induction. He said for now he's going to spend his retirement attending his children's activities and perhaps twiddling his thumbs at home.
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He can always reflect on his career.
The Penguins drafted him first overall in 2003, and he won three Stanley Cups with his original club before going to Vegas in the 2017 expansion draft. Fleury retired after his fourth season with the Minnesota Wild , ranking second all-time in the NHL with 575 wins.
Or he can reflect on Saturday night, which ended with him taking a lap around the rink acknowledging the fans, then taking the ice one last time — with his family — when he was named the first star of the game.
More than two hours before the start of the game, more than an hour before the gates opened, fans were lined up far and wide at the arena entrances, even though it had been announced earlier in the day that Fleury's lone period would be the third.
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Inside, the ovations began with the pregame warmup — when Fleury took the ice, when he took a few turns in net, when he left the ice, and when Crosby, Malkin and Letang brought him right back out onto the ice to pose together for the fans and for a photo in front of the Penguins bench.
While unconventional — hey, it was a preseason game — Fleury went onto the ice for the national anthem, standing between Crosby and Malkin, then returned to the bench and sported a ballcap with Sergei Murashov in net for the first two periods. He said Penguins assistant and former Fleury teammate Nick Bonino (Fleury referred to him as Bonino, Bonino, Bonino, a super reference) came up with the idea.
He sat in the backup's chair at one end of the bench for the first two periods. That means he was first in line when Crosby went through the fist-bump line after he scored to tie it.
Ville Koivunen also scored, and Rickard Rakell scored twice, including an empty-netter to make it 4-1. That was supposed to have been Fleury's goal if all had gone as planned. He has always wanted to score an empty-netter.
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"No empty-netter. No. It still was good, though," Fleury said. "We talked about it before. That was the plan, but then puck didn't come my way. I was ready. I wiped my blade off. Just my last chance, you know."
That's OK. It was a banner night without a goalie goal.
The post 'Ladies & Gentlemen, In Goal for Pittsburgh, Marc-Andre Fleury' appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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