Pittsburgh counts a great many sports legends among its storied past, but very few — if any — is more beloved than Marc-Andre Fleury.
The fan favorite, owner of practically every Penguins goaltending record from his 13 seasons with the franchise, makes his return to the Steel City Tuesday night for the first time as a member of the Golden Knights, and is expected to receive a hero's welcome back from the PPG Paints Arena crowd.
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375 - Marc-Andre Fleury returns to Pittsburgh, where he won a franchise-best 375 games for the @penguins. Homecoming. #Pens #NHL pic.twitter.com/R05xiQ7Xkr
— OptaGordie (@OptaGordie) February 6, 2018
"I think it's different from every game I've ever played," Fleury told reporters Monday in Pittsburgh. "In Vegas, I got a little taste of playing against friends and ex-teammates. I guess I got that out of the way. We'll see."
Fleury's final season with the Penguins was one of his worst as a professional, but his turnaround in Vegas has been one of the true feel-good stories of the 2017-18 NHL season. The 33-year-old All-Star carries a .939 save percentage into Tuesday night (second best in the league) and has backstopped the upstart Golden Knights to the best record in the Western Conference. In December, Fleury stopped 24 shots in a 2-1 win over the Penguins in Vegas, the first meeting between the teams.
To fully appreciate Fleury's impact, our friends at Opta Sports took a dive into his numbers with the Penguins.
Marc-Andre Fleury by the numbers
— Fleury played in 691 games as a Penguin, the most by any goalie and the eighth most in franchise history.
— Fleury had 375 wins with the Penguins, 149 more than second place (Tom Barrasso) and 271 more than third place (Ken Wregget).
— Fleury had 17,774 saves, the most in Penguins franchise history. Barrasso (12,076) is the only other goalie with more than 5,700.
— Fleury had 44 shutouts in a Penguins uniform, double the next most in Pittsburgh franchise history.
— In postseason play, Fleury leads the team in wins (62; Matt Murray is third on this list with 22), saves (3,002), and shutouts (10) and is third in GAA (2.65, min. 1,000 minutes) and fourth in save percentage (90.8%, min. 1,000 minutes).
— Fleury helped lead the team to three Stanley Cup titles. The Penguins had won two Stanley Cups in franchise history prior.
