PITTSBURGH — For the Pittsburgh Penguins, it’s always a ball when Marc-Andre Fleury is back in town.
Quite literally for one longtime friend and former teammate on Saturday.
Before the morning skate at PPG Paints Arena, Kris Letang strolled into the home dressing room and discovered he had somehow already been pranked.
“So that tells you we already know that he’s in the building,” Letang said, snickering as he explained that the goalie had “taped all of my stuff into a ball.”
Letang and the Penguins would get the last laugh in their home opener.
Teddy Blueger scored just 15 seconds into the 5-2 victory and the Penguins tacked on three more, including Drew O’Connor’s first career goal, before the second TV timeout to send Fleury storming down the tunnel to the dressing rooms.
Fleury had six saves on 10 shots when the Chicago Blackhawks pulled him with 8:35 left in the first period. The PPG Paints crowd, at full capacity for the first time since the pandemic began, booed when his backup, Kevin Lankinen, took his place.
A few months ago, many folks around Pittsburgh fantasized about Fleury being in the other net, the one belonging to the Penguins, for their home opener.
After the Vegas Golden Knights benched Fleury before exiting the playoffs, there were rumblings he could be leaving Las Vegas. But even he was stunned when he was traded to the Blackhawks in July. He briefly considered retirement.
Locally, speculation that Fleury could perhaps be rerouted to Pittsburgh reached a fever pitch. But the Penguins never seriously pursued a trade for Fleury.
Of course, they wouldn’t have minded adding the reigning Vezina Trophy winner to their crease. But they had next to nothing in terms of salary cap space and would have had to trade two or three regulars, and possibly a future asset to incentive a team to take a big contract, just to fit in Fleury’s $7 million cap hit.
Soon, the Penguins would reaffirm their commitment, at least in the short term, to Jarry being their No. 1 netminder. And Fleury quickly warmed to the idea of chasing the Stanley Cup with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks.
So there Fleury was Saturday night, receiving loud applause as he was announced as Chicago’s starter. Dozens of fans had dusted off their Fleury jerseys.
“When I was playing in front of him, [he had] the theatrics with the rubbing off the post and his superstitions and all those different things. So I’m really excited to be able to play him again and see his face,” Brian Dumoulin said. “Whether he’s for us or against us, it’s always good to have Marc-Andre in the building.”
But by 7:45 p.m. Saturday, one wondered if Fleury had already dipped out.
Blueger’s opening goal was a bad bounce, a pass attempt nicking a defender’s skate and skittering through Fleury’s pads. Five minutes later, O’Connor tucked the puck into the net after a stick-handling gaffe from Fleury behind Chicago’s net.
O’Connor’s linemates mobbed him in the corner after his first NHL goal.
Brock McGinn buried his first Penguins goal on a 2-on-1 rush. Then, just 26 seconds later, red-hot newcomer Danton Heinen scored for a third straight game.
Fleury disappeared to the Chicago dressing room and didn’t emerge until after the first intermission. Even then, he stood and watched from the end of the tunnel. It certainly wasn’t how he envisioned the game, his second-ever start as a visitor back in Pittsburgh, unfolding. The Penguins were quite pleased, though.
Jason Zucker scored on Lankinen in the second period, his first of the season.
Jarry made 18 saves in the win, his second in as many starts this season. The Penguins spotted him a 4-0 lead before he even got tested by the Blackhawks.
The victory was Mike Sullivan’s 253rd as head coach of the Penguins, moving him past Dan Bylsma into sole possession of first place in franchise history.
The Penguins are 2-0-1. They split their first two games, both on the road.
Saturday started an eight-game homestand at PPG Paints Arena for the Penguins that stretches through Nov. 6. The Dallas Stars are next up on Tuesday.
“We’re not going to get too far ahead of ourselves. We’re focused on one game here,” Sullivan said Saturday morning. “But we’ve got an opportunity now after our first couple games to establish ourselves as a team that is stingy at home.”
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