Marc-Andre Fleury made his debut with the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night and the longtime Penguin said “it was something different” to be playing for a new team.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said after the Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2, according to NHL.com. “It was different. It was good, though.”
Fleury was taken by the Penguins with the first pick in the 2003 draft and was the steady presence in goal for that team for 13 seasons. But with Matt Murray grabbing the starting job in Pittsburgh during the 2016 playoffs, Fleury was scooped up by Vegas in the NHL Expansion Draft.
If he was nervous about starting with a new team, he didn’t show it on Sunday. Fleury made 26 saves and the Ducks went 0-5 on the power play.
But he said there’s still some stuff he wants to work on before the season start
“I was a little rusty coming in. A lot of big bodies around the net, trying to find pucks,” he said. “It was tough. Little things. It wasn’t all the way I wanted.”
The Golden Knights will be icing a young team this season but Fleury should provide a calming, veteran influence and might even steal them some wins.
So far he’s off to a good start.
[relatedlinks]