*Sorry for the lack of photos! Hoping to get permission eventually.*
The Minnesota Wild held a Marc-Andre Fleury Night on Friday, February 9th. It was to honor Fleury for reaching the 1,000 games played mark... he also has 552 career wins. Fleury has passed Patrick Roy for second-most all-time among NHL goaltenders.
The Penguins played against the Wild, unfortunately not securing the two points. Minnesota and Marc-Andre Fleury defeated the Penguins with a 3-2 score.
Penguins lineup against the Wild:
Guentzel - Crosby - Rust
Smith - Malkin - O'Connor
Rakell - Eller - Puljujarvi
Harkins - White - Carter
Pettersson - Letang
Graves - Karlsson
Joseph - Ruhwedel
Nedeljkovic
Jarry
Wild lineup against the Penguins:
Kaprizov - Eriksson Ek - Boldy
Johansson - Rossi - Zuccarello
Foligno - Hartman - Gaudreau
Duhaime - Lucchini - Lettieri
Middleton - Faber
Brodin - Bogosian
Merrill - Mermis
Fleury
Gustavsson
Opening the scoring for Minnesota - Matt Boldy scored on the power play later into the first period. Boldy scored with a wrist shot through the slot. The Wild holds their 1-0 lead throughout the remaining time in the first frame.
Reilly Smith strikes his ninth goal of the season early into the middle frame. Smith tied up the game 1-1 with a slap shot coming from between the hash marks after Evgeni Malkin played the puck off the boards. Jonas Brodin beat Kris Letang in a board battle and quickly took the puck to the slot, scoring a wrist shot for the 2-1 lead.
Sidney Crosby puts the game back into a tie, 2-2, just over a minute into the final frame. Erik Karlsson fed him at the crease on the left side for a one-timer. Kirill Kaprizov scored at 10:26 of the third period to get the lead back for Minnesota. Kaprizov scored in an open area of the net before Alex Nedeljkovic could make a save in time.
Sidney Crosby on the Penguins' 3-2 loss and Marc-Andre Fleury's night: "It's something you have to deal with sometimes. We had our chances but, unfortunately, didn't find a way - He made some big saves (Marc-Andre Fleury). Obviously, we pushed pretty hard there late. You always know that he's going to compete and battle, but you still ultimately want to get the two points. It was a really nice ceremony before the game. I thought they did a great job recognizing what he's accomplished. It's great to be a part of that, but you still want to have the bragging rights at the end of the night."
Notes:
- Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves for Minnesota
- Marc-Andre Fleury is in the final season of the two-year contract he signed with the Minnesota Wild on July 8th, 2022... He has yet to decide whether he'll sign with a new team next NHL season or possibly retire.
- This was Fleury's first start since January 19th due to an upper-body injury
- Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and an assist
- Both Matt Boldy and Jonas Brodin also had a goal and an assist
- Sidney Crosby passed Mark Recchi for the sole possession of the 21st All-Time in goals scored (578)
- Sidney Crosby now has 11 points in his last eight games against the Minnesota Wild.
- Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves for Pittsburgh
Matt Boldy on Fleury: "To be a part of that is awesome, to celebrate a guy like that... A guy I grew up watching and I admire him so much. There's no better word than it's pretty special."
Marc-Andre Fleury on his special night and what he hopes to leave behind: "I hope to be a good role model for them, and hopefully they can remember me playing hockey, people cheering for me and for my team, for our name. It means a lot. Soon I'll be on the couch, not doing much. So, hopefully, they can remember when I was playing hockey."
Extra media from Fleury's special night!
Postgame: Zach Bogosian
Postgame: Kirill Kaprizov
Postgame: John Hynes
Postgame: Evgeni Malkin
Postgame: Alex Nedeljkovic
Postgame: Mike Sullivan
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