WASHINGTON -- After rallying for a 4-3 win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday, the Vegas Golden Knights opted to stay in the U.S. capital another night and gathered for a Super Bowl party at their hotel.
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury looked forward to spending some time with his teammates, enjoying the game and their company, but he admitted his mind might wander ahead. The Golden Knights will travel to Pittsburgh on Monday to begin preparing for their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, TVA Sports, ATTSN-PT, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV).
Fleury excited for return to Pittsburgh with Golden Knights
Goalie unsure how he'll handle first game back in city where he won Stanley Cup three times
Fleury, who played 13 seasons and won the Stanley Cup in 2009, 2016 and 2017 with the Penguins, has had that game circled on his calendar for a while. He's kept it on the backburner mentally, but over the next two days his Pittsburgh past will intersect with his Vegas present.
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"It's been coming," Fleury said. "I always say, 'I'm going to think about the next game before there's another one.' But now we're there and it's going to be lots of mixed emotions."
Fleury already faced the Penguins once this season; he made 24 saves in a 2-1 win at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 14. But the 33-year-old expects his emotions will be at a different level for his return to Pittsburgh, the city that was his in-season home since the Penguins selected him with the first pick of the 2003 NHL Draft.
His wife, Veronique, and their two daughters, parents and sister are traveling to Pittsburgh for the game. Fleury will receive his 2017 Stanley Cup championship ring from owner Mario Lemieux.
There will no doubt be a video chronicling all he accomplished with the Penguins, setting team records with 375 wins and 44 shutouts and, of course, being part of those three championship teams. From his fun-loving approach on the ice and the charity work he did off it, Fleury became one of the most popular players in Penguins history. This will be an opportunity for their fans to show their appreciation.
Fleury isn't sure how he'll handle it all.
"It's tough to know. It's never happened," he said. "I guess I had a little taste when they were in Vegas, but I'm sure it's going to be a little emotional, a little crazy, a little different, weird from playing all those years on the other side."
Because the Golden Knights are an expansion team, every road game is a homecoming for at least one of their players. It was former Capitals defenseman Nate Schmidt's turn to go through it on Sunday.
Schmidt said what's coming for Fleury on Tuesday will be different.
"That's going to be probably the biggest, with everything he's been through," Schmidt said. "He's such a tremendous guy, not just a hockey player, such a tremendous person as well. That's going to speak volumes when we get there. It's going to be packed. There might be more 29 jerseys (Fleury's number) in the stands than anything, which we're looking forward to."
In a way, it was fitting that Fleury played in Washington in the game immediately preceding his return to Pittsburgh. Fleury wasn't thrilled with himself for giving up three goals on 23 shots on Sunday, but he had many memorable moments here with the Penguins.
In Game 7 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, his dazzling glove save on Alex Ovechkin's breakaway three minutes into the first period prevented the Capitals from getting an early lead. The Penguins went on to win 6-2 on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.
The last time Fleury played here before Sunday, he posted a 29-save shutout in a 2-0 win in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round last season.
"I had some good times here," Fleury said, smiling.
Matt Murray took over as the Penguins No. 1 goalie while Fleury was out with a concussion at the start of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But Fleury got another chance last season when Murray was injured during warmups prior to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
After the Penguins eliminated the Blue Jackets in five games, they defeated the Capitals in seven games in the second round with Fleury leading the way. Playing behind a banged-up defense that was missing Kris Letang because of a neck injury, Fleury went 4-3 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage in that series.
"I think he was the main reason why they beat us," said Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik, a former Penguin.
But Murray recovered from his injury and by Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators, Fleury was back on the bench. He didn't play another minute in a Penguins uniform and waived the no-movement clause in his contract so the Golden Knights could select him in the NHL Expansion Draft.
"I just have a lot fun playing and I wanted to be playing and this team wanted me to come play for them," Fleury said. "I was excited about it, excited about the challenge that comes with a new team. I couldn't be more happy with how things worked out."
The surprising Golden Knights are in first place in the Western Conference at 35-13-4 with 72 points and have already set a record for most wins for an NHL team in its inaugural season. Fleury would no doubt love to get another win on Tuesday.
"I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I've been thinking about it for a while. It will be fun."
