Offtopic » PITTSBURGH (AP) It was an emotional night

for the Pittsburgh Penguins and their beloved former goaltender Custom Buffalo Sabres Jerseys , Marc-Andre Fleury.Fleury was back in the city where he started his NHL career and spent more than a decade, helping to backstop the Penguins to multiple championships. The Penguins wanted to honor their old friend – and they did – but they also wanted to win.Third-period goals by Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel ruined Fleury’s homecoming as the Penguins defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 on Tuesday.”I think it was an important game, and obviously with (Fleury) coming in it added a lot of emotion,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. ”Once you get out there, you’re trying to win a game and he’s trying to do the same thing.”Fleury, who won three Stanley Cups with the Penguins – including the last two seasons – returned to Pittsburgh for the first time since Vegas selected him in the expansion draft last summer. Fleury, who stopped 33 shots, beat his former teammates in December in Las Vegas.”The game was (in Pittsburgh), so it was different,” Fleury said. ”It was very weird, but it was a game I’ll remember forever.”In the first meeting between the teams in Pittsburgh, Malkin gave the Penguins a 4-2 lead with his 30th of the season at 3:09 of the third period. Malkin, who scored in his fifth straight game, became the fifth player in team history to score 30 goals six times.Kessel extended the lead to 5-2 a little more than three minutes later on a one-touch, backdoor feed from Malkin.Jake Guentzel www.flamesshoponline.com , Ryan Reaves and Ian Cole also scored for Pittsburgh, which won for the fifth time in six games.Matt Murray, Fleury’s former understudy in Pittsburgh, made 21 saves to top his mentor.William Karlsson scored his 28th of the season on a power play for the Golden Knights. James Neal, who spent four seasons in Pittsburgh, got his 23rd.Ryan Carpenter and Jonathan Marchessault scored in the third period for Vegas, which nearly rallied from a three-goal deficit. The Western Conference leaders have 20 wins in their last 28 games.Fleury, the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NHL draft, spent 13 seasons in Pittsburgh and set team records for games and minutes played, wins and shutouts.Murray stepped in when Fleury went down on the eve of the 2016 playoffs. He helped the Penguins to the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup and eventually grabbed the No. 1 job. Fleury waived his no-movement clause before the trade deadline last spring so the Penguins could protect Murray in the expansion draft.Fleury briefly regained the starting job before leaving Pittsburgh when Murray aggravated an injury during warmups prior to the first game of the playoffs. He won nine games and helped eliminate Columbus and Washington before Murray returned in the third round of the playoffs against Ottawa.The organization put together a tribute video for Fleury that was shown during a first-period stoppage in play. Fleury stood stoically behind his net and rested his glove on his stick as he took in the highlights. The crowd roared in appreciation and gave a long standing ovation to Fleury, who raised his stick in the air and waved to the fans.Murray took it all in from the other end.”Those are always fun to watch and they bring back good memories of the last two years, especially a guy like (Fleury), who was a big part of my development,” Murray said. ”He was a really good friend and mentor.”The crowd gave Fleury his first standing ovation of the night as soon as he hit the ice for pregame warmups. A larger-than-normal crowd of supporters gathered behind the visitors’ goal, many holding handmade signs and cheering each time he took the net.”We knew it was going to happen Calgary Flames T-Shirts Womens ,” Murray said. ”He’s well-liked and everybody loves (Fleury) for good reason. He deserves every bit of appreciation he gets.”Fleury tapped Murray on the pads during warmups and the two had a short chat while stretching. At the end of warmups, Fleury skated to the red line and took a shot off the pads from Penguins defenseman Kris Letang to the delight of the crowd.”I didn’t know what to expect,” Fleury said. ”In the warmup, I had goosebumps. It’s a night I won’t forget.”NOTES: Pittsburgh won its season-high eighth straight home game. … Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist is week to week with a lower-body injury. Pittsburgh also scratched defensemen Matt Hunwick and Chad Ruhwedel. … Golden Knights forward Williams Carrier returned to Las Vegas to be evaluated by team doctors. The team also scratched defenseman Jason Garrison.UP NEXTGolden Knights: Complete a three-game road trip Thursday at San Jose.Penguins: At the Dallas Stars on Friday.— CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Mike Smith pumped his fist at the final buzzer, letting himself enjoy another shutout.“That’s the only time of the game I can celebrate, is when we win the game,” Smith said.Smith made 31 saves, Elias Lindholm scored twice and the Calgary Flames beat the Minnesota Wild 2-0 on Thursday night.Smith got his second shutout of the season and 38th of his career. He has won his past five games, including a victory in relief of David Rittich on Tuesday when Calgary rallied from 4-1 down to beat Columbus 9-6.“It’s always nice, especially in a close game to hear the horn go off at the end and get the two points,” he said.Lindholm got his 14th and 15th goals of the season and has 32 points in 29 games. His career high is 17 goals, reached with Carolina in 2014-15.Johnny Gaudreau and captain Mark Giordano assisted on both goals.“We find ways to score. It’s good for us and good for the team,” Lindholm said. “Smitty made some huge saves for us at key moments so I have to thank him for this one.”Smith didn’t just make an impact in net. He checked Wild leading goal scorer Zach Parise in the second period when the goalie came out of his crease to play the puck.“I wasn’t trying to hit him, I was just trying to protect the puck Calgary Flames Hoodies Womens ,” Smith said. “They teach you that in minor hockey, to turn your back and get your big butt out.”Calgary leads the Pacific Division at 18-9-2 and improved to 13-2 this season when scoring the first goal of the game.Alex Stalock stopped 18 shots for the Wild.“I always think for the most part the effort was there, but a lot of our guys weren’t handling the puck well,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Alex played a really good game and kept us in there, especially at the beginning.”Minnesota dropped to 1-2 on its trip to five Canadian cities, a first for the franchise.Smith held off Minnesota on a pair of power-play chances in the second period and another to end the game after the Wild pulled Stalock for an extra attacker.“He was good tonight,” Boudreau said. “When he’s on, he’s really on. Everybody knows that. When he’s off, he’s really off.”Lindholm made it 2-0 at 1:13 of the third period when Gaudreau took a stretch pass from Giordano and dished the puck to him alone at the faceoff circle.Minnesota won a first-period challenge of Lindholm’s goal that was ruled offside, but Lindholm scored 50 seconds into the second frame on a 2-on-1 with Gaudreau.Matt Dumba steamrolled Calgary center Mikael Backlund in the final minute of the game. Flames forward Ryan Lomberg went after Dumba, which resulted in a Calgary penalty.“I think it’s showing no respect for the player and for the game,” Lindholm said of Dumba’s check. “They’re down 2-0 and there’s 40 seconds left and I thought he left his feet a little.”NOTES: With two assists, Giordano reached 407 career points and moved past Lanny McDonald into 11th on Calgary’s career list. … Flames forward Michael Frolik (lower body) and defenseman Michael Stone (blood clot) and Juusu Valimaki (lower body) were scratched from the Flames lineup.UP NEXTMinnesota: At Edmonton on Friday.Calgary: Hosts Nashville on Saturday.