Marc-Andre Fleury Could Face Penguins One Last Time as Wild Host Pittsburgh

Fleury Could Face Penguins One Last Time as Wild Seek Bounce-Back Win

Sunday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minnesota, could mark a poignant moment in NHL history as legendary goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury may take the ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final time in his Hall of Fame career.

Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup champion and a 2020-21 Vezina Trophy winner, spent his first 13 NHL seasons in Pittsburgh before moving on to Vegas, Chicago, and now Minnesota. The 40-year-old has announced this will be his final season, making this potentially his last meeting with the team that drafted him first overall in 2003.

Minnesota’s Playoff Push and Home Advantage

The Wild currently hold the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but they’ve struggled recently, losing four of their last six games.

Their latest defeat, a 3-1 road loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, was frustrating for a team that felt it controlled the majority of the game.

“That’s as frustrating as it gets,” said defenseman Brock Faber, who scored Minnesota’s lone goal. “I thought we outplayed them 80 percent of the game, maybe 75 percent of the game, probably doubled their grade-A chances.”

Head coach John Hynes echoed that sentiment, stating, “It’s a hard league to win in, but if we ice the game that we iced tonight, we’re going to give ourselves the best chance to win most nights.”

Minnesota now returns home for a crucial stretch, playing 10 of its next 11 games at home, starting with a season-high seven-game homestand.

Penguins Desperate to Stop Freefall

The Penguins are in a tailspin, losing four straight (0-3-1) and eight of their last nine games (1-7-1).

Their offense has all but disappeared, scoring just one goal in their last two games. Rickard Rakell scored the lone goal in a 4-1 loss to Colorado on Tuesday, and the Penguins followed that up by getting shut out 4-0 by the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.

“We played well for the first two periods,” Rakell said after the Vegas loss. “Then the third kind of got away from us a little bit.”

Captain Sidney Crosby, who leads the team in assists (47) and points (66), saw his four-game point streak end against Vegas. However, he had three assists in the Penguins’ last meeting with the Wild, a 5-3 loss on Oct. 29.

With Pittsburgh sitting well outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the pressure is mounting on a team that was expected to contend.

Every Goal, Every Hit

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Key Players to Watch

Minnesota Wild

• Marc-Andre Fleury (G) – If he starts, this could be an emotional game against his former team.
• Kirill Kaprizov (F) – Leads the Wild in goals (23) despite missing time after surgery.
• Matt Boldy (F) – Minnesota’s leading scorer (54 points), with six points in his last seven games.

Pittsburgh Penguins

• Sidney Crosby (F) – Still the team’s heartbeat and had three assists in the last meeting against Minnesota.
• Rickard Rakell (F) – Has been one of Pittsburgh’s few bright spots, scoring the team’s last goal.
• Tristan Jarry (G) – Expected to start and will need to hold strong against a motivated Wild team.

Keys to the Game

For Minnesota:

• Take advantage of home ice. The Wild are 14-13-1 at home but need to dominate this seven-game homestand.
• If Fleury starts, rally around him. The team would love to send him off with a win against his former club.
• Capitalize on Pittsburgh’s defensive lapses. The Penguins have been inconsistent in their own zone.

For Pittsburgh:

• Crosby and the top line need to deliver. The Penguins need their stars to produce in a must-win game.
• Find offensive urgency. Just one goal in two games isn’t enough to compete in today’s NHL.
• Fix their road struggles. Pittsburgh has a terrible 10-18-5 road record and has lost four straight away from home.

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Final Prediction

This game means more to Minnesota, especially if Marc-Andre Fleury gets the start. The Penguins have shown little offensive spark, and the Wild should be motivated to kick off their homestand with a win.

Prediction: Wild 4, Penguins 2.