Fleury always finding ways to make game fun for Golden Knights

VANCOUVER --The game is called Last Puck, and with the exception of a few NHL teams, it takes place toward the end of warmups before each game.

The rules vary slightly but are generally simple: Each team gathers around its net, someone takes a shot from high in the zone, and the other players then try to score on the rebound, using deflections, backdoor feeds, passes off pads, sharp-angle shots and bar-down snipes from close range until the puck finally goes in and everyone skates away triumphantly, signifying the end of the warmup.
If the goalie somehow keeps the puck out until the horn sounds to end warmup (the length of the Last Puck game varies from team to team), he wins the game.
Tending to this mad scramble is almost always the task of the backup goalie that night, but not when Marc-Andre Fleury is getting ready to start a game.
"I always did it," the Vegas Golden Knights No. 1 goalie said. "I like to move fast, try to get a sweat in warmups and it is fun trying to battle and you know the guys really want to score, so have fun with it."
Fleury is smiling as he says this, just as he does throughout most games of Last Puck, mixing his ever-present grin with the explosive saves that have become equal parts of his trademark.
For Fleury, who turned 34 on Nov. 28, having fun remains an important part of a 15-year NHL career that already includes 419 wins, good for 10th place on the all-time list.
"It matters to me," Fleury said, "And I think it's been good for our team too, right? It's always more fun when you have success, obviously. Everything is easier when everyone is smiling, but I feel like when you smile, you relax, you play hard."
That's why Fleury still plays Last Puck. And it's why he was spotted doing a cartwheel in full equipment outside the dressing room before a start with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I think it helps," he said. "I wasn't starting and Matt [Murray] got hurt and I was going in and I was a little nervous. I hadn't played in a while so I was stretching and throwing balls on the wall and I thought like, 'To heck with this, just relax, and go have fun.' "

For Fleury, it was a way of removing the tension that can paralyze a goalie.
"Sometimes I think you squeeze the stick, you squeeze your glove, and you're not as fluid, you're not as relaxed," said Fleury, holding his hands out in front of him and squeezing his fists until his arms shake to demonstrate. "You almost try too hard. You want to do so well, to win so bad, but you can be too tense and do too much."
Cartwheels and Last Puck can help, but Fleury's focus on fun doesn't end there. He spreads it around the Vegas locker room through pranks and verbal barbs during practice.
Forward Max Pacioretty, who was traded to the Golden Knights on Sept. 10 after 10 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, believes it has a positive impact on everyone.
"When I first came here I would score a goal in practice on Flower and I felt like, 'Don't look at him and skate back in line,' and he came up to me after my second practice and said, 'Hey bud, don't be afraid if you score on me to chirp me because I am going to do the same to you,' " Pacioretty said. "Ever since then, we're doing warm-up drills and guys are [going] tic-tac-toe backdoor and he's trying to sprawl out for a save. And it makes for competitiveness and getting better, but also it makes for a lot of fun and it makes the atmosphere both on the ice in practice and in the room a lot fun as well."
Teammates can feed off that energy and competitiveness, said Pacioretty, who cited his offseason skates with Los Angeles Kings No. 1 Jonathan Quick as his only comparable experience.

"Summer skates are only as good as how hard the goalie works," Pacioretty said, "so you can scrimmage and it can be fun but if the goalie doesn't care or isn't working hard, you don't get the most out of it.
"I know a lot of goalies hate those skates but if you watch Flower in practice and morning skate and in the game, he's the hardest worker on the ice, no questions asked, at all times. It starts there and it goes beyond confidence; it allows us not to play on pins and needles because we know that he's the best player on this team and you want to go out and perform for him."
For Fleury, that starts with remembering to have fun, whether it's in practice, during a game or battling through Last Puck shortly before the real game starts.
"That's why I tell Max I want him to score and then let me know I [stink]," Fleury said, "And when I stop him, I tell him. It makes me a better goalie and makes him a better shooter and I like it that way."
That's because it's fun.