Flower Powers Penguins Past CBJ (With a Little Help from His Friends)

The moment Penguins Nation breathlessly awaited came all too quickly and passed too soon. Marc-André Fleury made his triumphant, to say nothing of emotional, return to the team and place where it all began some 22 years earlier.

Truly, the night couldn’t have gone any better had it been scripted by a Hollywood writer. From the pregame warmups to the moment Fleury took up residence in his familiar spot between the goalposts and began doing stretches to a thunderous roar of approval from the crowd, the evening was a giant celebration. A lovefest for truly one of the most beloved athletes ever to grace the playing surfaces of the Steel City.

Heck, I got choked up anew just watching the video replays.

While the partisan throng feted him with chants of “Fleury, Fleury, Fleury” and “One more year,” Flower did his part and more, stopping all eight shots he faced in true conquering hero fashion. The Pens held a 2-1 lead when he entered the game. At the buzzer, the score stood at 4-1.

“I didn’t want to cost them the game,” said the 40-year-old legend, who admitted he hadn’t trained this summer after announcing his retirement. “I didn’t want to give up six goals and look like an idiot. It ends well. I was really happy that I didn’t embarrass myself too much.”

As the final seconds of an exemplary career ticked off the clock, Kris Letang peeled back into the Pens’ zone and played pitch and catch with his old comrade in arms to allow him one last moment in the sun. A touching display of reverence and respect. Followed in short order by a group hug with Tanger, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, all on the ice courtesy of coach Dan Muse, at the final horn.

It simply doesn’t get any better or more heart-tugging.

“We’ve played a lot of games and many seasons together,” an emotional Fleury said afterward. “We won together. I was lucky to get to live this one more time and share this moment with them.”

Crosby, a frequent target of his old teammate’s inveterate pranking, shared the same sentiments.

“We were just really smiling, we were just happy,” Sid said. “It’s just one of those things that you don’t expect to get the chance to do.”

We as fans, were lucky, too. And so very blessed.

Again, a very special thanks to POHO/GM Kyle Dubas for creating an extraordinary evening, to say nothing of memories that will last a lifetime.

Now, about that one more year…

Puckpourri

In honor of the occasion, the Pens dressed the big boys. In addition to Sid, Geno and Tanger, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson suited up. Sid (a goal and two helpers) and Rakell (a pair of goals) were in mid-season form.

Ville Koivunen netted the other black-and-gold goal. Tanger and Karlsson added helpers from the backline.

Although he didn’t crack the scoresheet, Malkin was dominant, registering a 78.79 Corsi and a stunning 88.26 expected goals for percentage. He and hulking newcomer Anthony Mantha have been skating together quite a bit and seem to be developing some chemistry. Geno actually initiated the end-of-game sequence with a long pass from the attacking zone back to No. 29, perhaps in hopes of setting Flower up for an elusive goalie goal.

Although lost amid the hullaballoo, Sergei Murashov (perhaps Flower’s heir apparent) guarded the Pens’ net for the first 40 minutes and stopped 12 of 13 shots, yielding a goal only to Luca Del Bel Belluz. The Jackets’ prospect also bested Fleury with a nifty move as part of a pre-arranged, three-round shootout following the game. A last opportunity for Flower to flash his legendary athleticism and wares.

Funny how the eye test can differ so drastically at times from the actual stats. By most accounts, Ryan Graves has continued to struggle during the preseason, while mobile free-agent Caleb Jones has drawn raves in some circles. Yet the former’s underlying numbers are sterling (72.22 Corsi, 81.96 xGF%) while the latter’s are comparatively poor (40.82 Corsi, 39.64 xGF%).

The final round of cuts will be fascinating to say the least. Tristan Broz, Avery Hayes (who assisted on Sid’s tally) and defenseman Harrison Brunicke were in the lineup last night. Any or all could conceivably make the team, which could affect the status of a handful of veterans.