Fleury hoping for 'bragging rights' in final start against Penguins

VANCOUVER -- Marc-Andre Fleury will enter his last game against the Pittsburgh Penguins thinking about great friends and hopeful final bragging rights.

Fleury is expected to start for the Minnesota Wild when they host Pittsburgh on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, MAX, truTV, TNT, TVAS), the final chapter between the 40-year-old goalie and the franchise he grew up with, and his final game against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

"It's always still weird when I play against them," Fleury said Thursday, one day before he backed up Filip Gustavsson in a 3-1 loss at the Vancouver Canucks. "Obviously I like to win against them to get a little bit of bragging rights, but they've been such great teammates and good friends and so it's fun to cross paths."

Fleury previously announced plans to retire following this season, ending a 22-year career that began with the Penguins selecting him with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft. He started in the NHL that same season as an 18-year-old and played 12 more in Pittsburgh, winning the Stanley Cup three times (2009, 2016, 2017) as part of a "core four" with Crosby, Malkin and Letang before being selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

"It's one of those things where you reflect a little bit," Crosby said Saturday. "But when you get out there, try to compete and have fun with it. He's had an amazing career and it's fun having the opportunity to play with him for a big chunk of it. Yeah, just try to enjoy that competition and that aspect of it."

Fleury remains the Penguins all-time leader among goalies in games played (691), wins (375) and goals-against average (2.58; minimum 50 games). But it's the friendships, with Crosby, Malkin and Letang in particular, that provide the memories that will make this final game memorable.

"You see guys every day for 12-14 years and then you don't see them anymore pretty much, so it's hard," Fleury said. "It's hard when that happens, right? But still, I always keep such a good memory and when we see each other, it feels like no time has passed, so it's like back to our time there together."

The four posed for a picture at center ice before Fleury's final game in Pittsburgh on Oct. 29 and met again at the Penguins bench as the crowd stood and chanted Fleury's name after making 26 saves in a 5-3 Wild win. It was an emotional and memorable night for Fleury, who was named First Star and got choked up discussing that night with the media in the locker room after.

"I was so happy joining a young group of guys, including Flower, that had high expectations but were all kind of growing up together in the League," said Crosby, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft. "So, I think you reflect on that. Just all the great moments that he was a part of and just all the little things. You know, not even hockey sometimes, whether it's the road trips or the off ice, those types of stuff."

Fleury, who joked that night that he had "gotten soft," thrived during a similarly emotional final game in front of friends and family his home province against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 30, including a late-game tribute and extended ovation that left him in tears but didn't prevent him from finishing with a 19-save shutout.

He is 12-7-1 with a 2.76 GAA and .904 save percentage in 21 games (19 starts) this season, and ranks second all-time in wins with 573 (behind Martin Brodeur, 691). His 1,046 regular-season games are second behind Brodeur (1,251), and his 76 shutouts are tied for fifth.

Fleury has qualified for the playoffs 17 times in 20 seasons prior to this one, his 169 games third and his 92 wins tied for third all-time.

"I just think the biggest thing that jumps out at me is just his love and passion for the game," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "To play as long as he has at such a high level, you have to truly love what you do. And he does. You can see it every day with how he goes about his business, how he carries himself. He loves being on the ice. He loves competing with his teammates. And I think that's why he's beloved because of his joy and love for the game and the position that he plays.

"That's why he's been able to endure. I mean, he's a talented guy and all of that, fierce competitor, but there's a lot of talented guys. His passion for the game, I think, is what has allowed him to endure the career that he has for as long as he has. As I said, he's beloved by his teammates."

Fleury is as well known for his seemingly ever-present smile and signature pranks as he is for his signature athletic saves and old-school flair that still includes poke checks and pad stacks. But he could live without some of the extra ceremony that has come with this farewell NHL season and will undoubtedly be a part of this final game against the team with which he is most widely associated.

"A little too much attention I would say," Fleury said. "I try to keep it as normal as possible, a good bunch of guys here and the team is in a playoff spot, so it makes things fun. I want to enjoy my last year here, and it's definitely a good time being around these guys."

NHL.com independent correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report