Why wouldn't a goaltender be very happy about stopping them?
The thrill isn't gone for Fleury at age 32. He got a chance to play when Matt Murray sustained a lower-body injury during warmups before Game 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and now the Penguins have a 3-1 lead in their best-of-7 series in the Eastern Conference First Round. Game 5 is at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVA Sports 2, ROOT, FS-O).
"It's fun," Fleury said. "I really enjoy it. You can feel more at ease, more comfortable, when you play a few games in a row. I'm enjoying this moment right now."
Fleury has been through many ups and downs during his career. He has excelled and struggled. He has started and backed up. He led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup in 2009, making a last-second save on Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom in Game 7 of the Final, and cheered when the Penguins won the Cup last season, watching most of their run from the bench.
Through it all, he has been one of the most popular players in the Pittsburgh locker room. A big reason is his personality. Everyone is different and does what works for them. What works for Fleury is smiling, laughing, joking, shouting -- not all the time, but a lot of the time. Not to put on a show, but to be himself. Not because he doesn't care, but because he does. It eases the pressure not only on himself, but on his teammates.
"Those are the good games, when you can be relaxed and having fun," Fleury said. "I think for me, that's what I like. I like the game a lot. I like to be out there. I like to win."
Defenseman Brian Dumoulin remembers the first time he was called up to the Penguins from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, during the 2013-14 season. He was 22. He was nervous. Then, after a flurry of shots and saves, Fleury let out a "Woo!"
"It was just kind of like, 'Oh my God. If he's loving it, I've just got to settle down a little bit,'" Dumoulin said. "He's in there laughing and making jokes. It definitely calms you when you're a defenseman back there in front of the net and you hear [Fleury] hooting and hollering after we're getting peppered with five or six shots. It's fun."
Defenseman Ian Cole remembers when the Penguins acquired him in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on March 2, 2015. For a brief time he was a teammate of Martin Brodeur, who played the last seven games of his illustrious NHL career with the Blues in 2014-15.