Three storylines
1. Fleury’s not alone. MarcAndre Fleury is not the only former Penguin returning to Pittsburgh. James Neal, David Perron and Deryk Engelland all played for the Pens. The difference? They’ve been back to Pittsburgh before. For Fleury, it’s his first time.
2. Gallant’s line juggling. Will Carrier is out with an upper-body injury, and that means Brendan Leipsic is back in. Will coach Gerard Gallant keep Alex Tuch with Pierre-edouard Bellemare and Ryan Carpenter after the trio combined for two goals and three assists versus Washington? Or does he move Oscar Lindberg back and have Tuch play with Leipsic and Cody Eakin on what has been an offensively ineffective third line of late?
3. Penguins in battle. The Penguins would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.
But they are in a battle in the Metropolitan Division, leading Columbus by just three points for the third spot in the Metro.
Steve Carp
surrounding Fleury’s return, much like the team did Dec. 14 when it defeated the Penguins 2-1 at T-mobile Arena.
“Marc’s a true pro,” Gallant said. “I’m sure it’s going to be emotional for him, but he played here a long time. He’s got three Stanley Cup championships. He’s got a lot of friends here. So it’ll be a lot of fun.
“It’s another game for us, but for Marc it’s a big game.”
Despite missing 25 games with a concussion, Fleury has been a big part of the team’s success, Gallant said.
“He’s a leader. He’s a great goaltender, and that’s why we’re in the position we’re in right now,” Gallant said.
“I’m sure it’ll be weird for him,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said Monday. “But he’s going to get a great ovation and once you get into the game, you get competitive and you have fun with it and try to put the puck past him.
“There’s always motivation when you play against friends and former teammates. Especially in the position we’re in and what happened there. We want to make sure we find a way to win this one.”
Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.