For Fleury, Golden Knights Debut A Bit Out Of The Ordinary

For Marc-Andre Fleury, he admitted Sunday felt a bit different. After 13 years…
The logo was new.
The colors were new.
The teammates were new, the system was new, the team he was representing was new.
Ever since the day he was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2003 NHL Draft, Marc-Andre Fleury has been a Pittsburgh Penguin. Starting as an 18-year-old rookie, blossoming into one of the NHL's best goalies, winning three Stanley Cups and capturing the hearts of an entire city, it's been that way.
Marc-Andre Fleury has ALWAYS been a Pittsburgh Penguin. He officially became a Vegas Golden Knight when his former club left the soon-to-be 33-year-old available - choosing to keep 23-year-old goalie Matt Murray -in June's Expansion Draft.

But Sunday's game in Anaheim, when Fleury stopped 26 of 28 shots and got the win at Honda Center, was his first time on NHL ice in another team's jersey.
And even Fleury, who's known for his omnipresent smile, admitted it felt a bit weird.
"I saw a few replays on the jumbotron," Fleury said. "I saw my teammates. It was different. It was good, though. They made me do a lot of pictures.
"I didn't really know what to expect. Honestly, it was something different."

Any differenceFleury may have felt didn't impact his performance. He was especially sharp early on, although he admitted that he still thinks there's another level he'll get to before the regular season starts.
Fleury figures to start at least once more - if not twice - during the Golden Knights' final three preseason games. Vegas will host the LA Kings (Tuesday), Colorado Avalanche (Thursday) and San Jose Sharks (Sunday) before opening the season in Dallas on October 6.

"It was all right," Fleury said. "I was a little rusty coming in. A lot of big bodies around the net, trying to find pucks. It was tough. Little things. It wasn't all the way I wanted.
"Just play a couple more games. It will be nice to get to game speed. It's different than practice."