Cris Collinsworth puzzled throughout the Tremendous Bowl final Sunday what number of Pittsburgh followers have been upset, despite the fact that the season had ended virtually a month in the past for his or her beloved Steelers. The announcer was referring to the 2 controversial catches that drew video opinions, solely to be upheld touchdowns for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Their opponents, the New England Patriots, had reeled the advantage of an identical overview again in week seventeen, when the Pittsburgh Steelers had been denied a landing go after a name had been reverse after a moderately prolonged replay.
Collinsworth could have been proper about Steelers followers being upset about these upheld calls, however two nights later 1000’s of Pittsburgh followers have been actually in tears. The emotion got here not throughout a soccer sport, however moderately an extended anticipated hockey match.
The event was the return of future Corridor of Fame goalie Mark Andre Fleury, who helped lead the Penguins to 3 Stanley Cup championships. Due to final 12 months’s enlargement within the Nationwide Hockey League, Fleury was misplaced to Pittsburgh when he was drafted by the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
On Tuesday, February 6 Las Vegas performed its first sport in Pittsburgh, marking Fleury’s first look on the PPG Area in a uniform aside from the Penguins. It was, undoubtedly, an emotional homecoming.
Throughout a break within the first half of interval one, the video board displayed a number of the profession highlights of Fleury whereas he defended the web for the Penguins. Then the gang stood in his honor in an ovation that lasted virtually ten minutes. The Pittsburgh announcer acknowledged that there was not a dry eye in the entire place, simply because the digital camera confirmed Fleury himself with a tear on his cheek seen by his Las Vegas face guard.
It isn’t obscure the love between the followers and their very long time goaltender who, not like most participant departures, was neither traded nor bolted without cost company. Pittsburgh actually had no alternative however to lose Fleury within the enlargement draft, which restricted the Penguins to defending only one goalie on the roster. The workforce properly selected to guard Matt Murray, who’s youthful and figures to be round for the lengthy haul.
Murray should keep round a really very long time if he may even hope to interrupt so!e of the workforce data Fleury established in his tenure, along with the three Stanley Cups. He tops the Penguins in most video games, tended purpose in 691 battles on the ice. Fleury’s 375 wins are additionally a workforce file, as are his 44 shutouts.
That evening of appeared for thirty minutes as if Fleury was going to close out his former teammates, as his Golden Knights led two to nothing with simply ten minutes remaining in interval two. Pittsburgh’s Ryan Reaves then shot one previous Fleury, and Ian Cole tied it a couple of minutes later.
The Penguins acquired extra objectives from Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, two stars who had helped Fleury win the three NHL championships. On the finish of sixty minutes, Pittsburgh had confirmed victorious with a 5 to 4 win.
Nevertheless, the 2 groups may very nicely lock up once more in a way more vital collection on the finish of the season,given their respective positions within the standings. Las Vegas presently sits atop the Pacific Division and Pittsburgh is second within the Metropolitan, which means that Fleury could possibly be dealing with his previous workforce within the Stanley Cup finals.
