Fleury makes 26 saves for Wild, wins likely final game in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH -- Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves for the Minnesota Wild in likely his final game at PPG Paints Arena, a 5-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Fleury won the Stanley Cup three times (2009, 2016, 2017) in 13 seasons with Pittsburgh after being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft. He has the most wins (375) and best goals-against average (2.58) in Penguins history.

“I don’t know. It’s maybe hard to believe that's the last time,” Fleury said. “I told you I’ve gotten soft. Yeah, hard to believe, but so appreciative. ... I’ve had a few tough games here. I don’t know. It just feels so weird, so not comfortable.”

After the game, the 39-year-old was greeted by longtime Penguins teammates Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang at the Pittsburgh bench as the crowd chanted his last name.

“I think it’s a great way to celebrate [Fleury],” Crosby said. “I thought the fans had great ovations with the videos and things like that. He means a lot to the team, to the fans, to the organization, to the guys that played with him.

“So, yeah, probably mixed emotions. Happy that he had the opportunity to play in this game and get that kind of ovation. And then, obviously, sad to see that it’s his last year.”

Frederick Gaudreau had two goals and an assist, and Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists for the Wild (6-1-2), who completed their seven-game road trip 5-1-1.

“I thought it was a hard-fought battle,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “I’m just really, really proud of the effort after a long road trip. Coming in here, you know it’s going to be a battle. I think they were ready to play.”

Rickard Rakell scored twice, and Crosby had three assists for the Penguins (3-7-1), who have been outscored 26-13 in six straight losses (0-5-1). Joel Blomqvist made 34 saves.

“I think it’s a number of things, but it starts with the decisions we make with the puck because I think we put ourselves and our teammates in very difficult spots,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “The first step in becoming a solid team defensively is managing the puck appropriately. Otherwise, you’re inviting easy offense.”

Valtteri Puustinen put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 on a power play at 11:36 of the first period with a snap shot past a screen from Lars Eller.

Rakell made it 2-0 at 15:31, spinning in the slot for a snap shot.

Jakub Lauko and Gaudreau then scored 55 seconds apart. Lauko cut it to 2-1 at 17:03 with a sharp-angled wrist shot, and Gaudreau tied it 2-2 at 17:58 when he flicked a shot from the right circle past Blomqvist's blocker.

Gaudreau gave Minnesota a 3-2 lead on a breakaway at 1:38 of the second period, scoring on a wrist shot after Kaprizov intercepted a pass from Eller in the neutral zone.

“I think we’ve built up a pretty solid game lately in the past games,” Gaudreau said. “I take a lot of pride in that, doing the little details, being some sort of line that can change momentum here and there.”

Anthony Beauvillier was close to tying it three times in 10 seconds for the Penguins. He tipped a shot on goal at 14:40, had a wrist shot turned away at 14:46, and tapped a loose puck off the left post at 14:50.

Mats Zuccarello then extended the Wild's lead to 4-2 at 19:23 by redirecting a spinning pass from Kaprizov for his fifth goal this season.

Rakell deflected a shot from Marcus Pettersson to cut it to 4-3 at 3:36 of the third period.

Kaprizov scored an empty-net goal from his own end of the ice at 19:41 for the 5-3 final.

Before that goal, Fleury made a lunging shoulder save at the left post on Eller at 18:19, reminiscent of the one he made for the Penguins on Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom in the waning seconds of Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final.

“I thought about it too, like, when I made the save,” Fleury said. “Like old times, you know?”

NOTES: Kaprizov extended his multipoint streak to six games (four goals, 10 assists), tying Zuccarello for the longest streak in Wild history. ... Minnesota defenseman Jared Spurgeon had two blocks in 19:54 of ice time in his return after missing six games with a lower-body injury. ... Penguins forward Bryan Rust did not play with a lower-body injury. He is week to week. ... Fleury was playing his 100th game with the Wild since joining the team during the 2021-22 season. His next game will tie him with Patrick Roy for the third-most games played by a goaltender in NHL history (1,029).