Penguins Fall to Wild in Marc-Andre Fleury Celebration

PITTSBURGH – To kick off a two-game road trip on back-to-back nights, the Pittsburgh Penguins made their first stop to take on the Minnesota Wild. Before the puck could drop, the Wild held a heartfelt ceremony to celebrate 1,000 games played and 552 career wins for goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

An all-time great with the Penguins, Fleury has been a fan favorite for every team he’s played with. Following the ceremony, it was time for the Penguins to try and get one last leg up on their old friend.

First Period

It took no time for the Penguins to gain an advantage with a four-minute double minor against the Wild just 25 seconds into the contest. The Penguins came up empty-handed from the extended chance, recording only three shots.

Just past the period's halfway point, the Wild were given their own four-minute power play chance. The Wild would take better advantage of the opportunity with a power play goal in the second half of the double minor.

The Penguins gained another power play chance before the end of the frame, but it was interrupted twice by the buzzer going off in the arena.

After 20 minutes of action, the Wild carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Second Period

The Wild started the second frame with an abbreviated power play chance, which the Penguins killed off.

While playing from behind, the Penguins looked to spark something for themselves early in the period, and they got a jump from an unexpected area. Reilly Smith hadn’t scored a goal in his last 11 games played.

On a two-man rush with Evgeni Malkin, Smith finally broke the mold and got the monkey off his back for his ninth goal of the season. Malkin also deserves credit for threading the pass through multiple Wild defenders.

The ice soon opened when the Penguins and Wild entered four-on-four play with a penalty on each side. With the extra ice, the Wild took advantage and regained the lead.

Despite the teams being relatively close in shots on goal, it felt for a good portion of the second period that Alex Nedeljkovic was forced to come up with multiple huge saves.

Third Period

With Nedeljkovic standing on his head and the Wild carrying most of the momentum, the Penguins entered the final frame down by a goal.

The Wild again opened the period on the power play, but it was much shorter lived; they took a penalty of their own in the opening seconds. Sidney Crosby and the Penguins took full advantage of the ensuing power play, knotting the game at two.

A perfectly placed pass from Erik Karlsson found Crosby on his knee, who had a full cage to work with. The power play tally moved Crosby into sole possession of 21st in goals in NHL history.