Loose Pucks: Sid, Geno earn final 'bragging rights' on Fleury
"I feel like I'm going to hear about this for a long time,” Marc-Andre Fleury was musing through a massive grin in the Minnesota locker room, this after the Penguins beat the Wild, 3-1, today at Xcel Energy Center, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin being the only ones to beat him.
And he's right. He will.
Partly because Sid's proved to be the winner, midway through the third period.
“He still talks about his goal in juniors against me," Fleury proceeded with playful ruefulness. "This was lucky too. Missed his shot and it hit Brock Faber’s stick."
It actually did:
That's fine service from Erik Karlsson, but Sid's push wouldn't have penetrated a wet paper towel.
"It's like, 'Are you kidding me? This guy.' " Fleury said before turning serious. "I don't know. I still played for the win. That's what matters, right? That's what ticked me off the most, losing that game."
"Yeah, that found a way in somehow," was Sid's take on the goal. "I think one of their D ended up helping me on that one, ended up tipping it, but that was nice to see that one go in. Hopefully, some bragging rights for a while with that one."
Big grin there, too.
No different on Geno's tying goal late in the second:
It all felt fitting, fun included, for the final time all four of the Penguins' original, so-called Core -- Sid, Geno, Fleury and Kris Letang -- will share the ice in an NHL game, given that Fleury's retiring after this season.
"Heck," Bryan Rust quipped, "I was waiting for Tanger to score."
All three hooked up afterward between their respective rooms for a few words and a photo:
MINNESOTA WILD
• Two more new acquisitions made their debuts for the Penguins: Connor Dewar skated on the third forward line, logged 12:52 of ice time, attempted two shots and registered two hits, a takeaway and a blocked shot. Conor Timmins skated on the third defense pairing, logged 11:49 and registered a shot, two attempts and a team-high four hits. Probably most impressive, both took regular turns on the day's superb penalty-killing performance.
• Sid had a ton of apparently spirited stuff to say to referee Michael Markovic about a slashing call against him late in the second period, to the extreme that he was still following Markovic around the ice to talk well into the next period. I asked Sid what that was all about and, simply put, he accepted the stick contact but felt it also should've been weighed that Jake Middleton had pulled him in for that to be possible.
• Sid's two goals put him at 21, marking his 17th 20-goal season. Six players in NHL history have more: Gordie Howe (22), Alexander Ovechkin (20), Jaromir Jagr (20), Ron Francis (20), Brendan Shanahan (19) and Dave Andreychuk (19).
• Not to be forgotten, Mike Sullivan did finally get that 400th win behind the Pittsburgh bench that'd been been delayed by a couple of lousy weeks, one that makes him the 14th in NHL history to do so with one team, the first born in the U.S.:
NHL
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
THE ASYLUM
Dejan Kovacevic
10:12 pm - 03.09.2025St. Paul, Minn.Loose Pucks: Sid, Geno earn final 'bragging rights' on Fleury
"I feel like I'm going to hear about this for a long time,” Marc-Andre Fleury was musing through a massive grin in the Minnesota locker room, this after the Penguins beat the Wild, 3-1, today at Xcel Energy Center, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin being the only ones to beat him.
And he's right. He will.
Partly because Sid's proved to be the winner, midway through the third period.
“He still talks about his goal in juniors against me," Fleury proceeded with playful ruefulness. "This was lucky too. Missed his shot and it hit Brock Faber’s stick."
It actually did:
That's fine service from Erik Karlsson, but Sid's push wouldn't have penetrated a wet paper towel.
"It's like, 'Are you kidding me? This guy.' " Fleury said before turning serious. "I don't know. I still played for the win. That's what matters, right? That's what ticked me off the most, losing that game."
"Yeah, that found a way in somehow," was Sid's take on the goal. "I think one of their D ended up helping me on that one, ended up tipping it, but that was nice to see that one go in. Hopefully, some bragging rights for a while with that one."
Big grin there, too.
No different on Geno's tying goal late in the second:
It all felt fitting, fun included, for the final time all four of the Penguins' original, so-called Core -- Sid, Geno, Fleury and Kris Letang -- will share the ice in an NHL game, given that Fleury's retiring after this season.
"Heck," Bryan Rust quipped, "I was waiting for Tanger to score."
All three hooked up afterward between their respective rooms for a few words and a photo:
MINNESOTA WILD
• Two more new acquisitions made their debuts for the Penguins: Connor Dewar skated on the third forward line, logged 12:52 of ice time, attempted two shots and registered two hits, a takeaway and a blocked shot. Conor Timmins skated on the third defense pairing, logged 11:49 and registered a shot, two attempts and a team-high four hits. Probably most impressive, both took regular turns on the day's superb penalty-killing performance.
• Sid had a ton of apparently spirited stuff to say to referee Michael Markovic about a slashing call against him late in the second period, to the extreme that he was still following Markovic around the ice to talk well into the next period. I asked Sid what that was all about and, simply put, he accepted the stick contact but felt it also should've been weighed that Jake Middleton had pulled him in for that to be possible.
• Sid's two goals put him at 21, marking his 17th 20-goal season. Six players in NHL history have more: Gordie Howe (22), Alexander Ovechkin (20), Jaromir Jagr (20), Ron Francis (20), Brendan Shanahan (19) and Dave Andreychuk (19).
• Not to be forgotten, Mike Sullivan did finally get that 400th win behind the Pittsburgh bench that'd been been delayed by a couple of lousy weeks, one that makes him the 14th in NHL history to do so with one team, the first born in the U.S.:
NHL
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
We’d love to have you!