Fleury emotional after finale here: 'Hard to believe that's the last time'

Marc-Andre Fleury was only able to get a few words out of his mouth in his postgame locker room interview on Tuesday before his eyes started filling with tears.

"It's hard to believe that's the last time," he eventually choked out, before flashing his usual giant grin and remarking that he's "gone soft."

Fleury, who turns 40 years old next month, announced prior to the start of this season that it would be his last in the NHL. Tuesday marked the Wild's lone game in Pittsburgh this season, and Fleury's time in Pittsburgh ended on a high note as he made 26 saves in a 5-3 Wild win.

The game itself, really, was secondary. From warmups to a postgame farewell to the fans, this night was about celebrating everything Fleury did for the Penguins during his 13 seasons in Pittsburgh.

"I'm so appreciative from the bottom of my heart," Fleury said of the reception he got. "What everybody's done for me over the years, and the support ..." he trailed off before buying his head in his lap and asking if anyone else wanted to talk instead, laughing at himself and how hard of a time he was having speaking about the experience.

The love for Fleury started early on Tuesday. Fans packed the glass surrounding the visiting side of the ice before warmups started, with a large contingent wearing Fleury jerseys -- Penguins, Golden Knights, Blackhawks, Wild, Team Canada, all his career stops were represented. The Wild took the ice to a roar from the crowd, and when public address announcer Ryan Mill announced the starting lineups for each team, the ovation for the Wild's starting goaltender might have been louder than any ovation for any of the Penguins' starters -- a group that included Fleury's longtime teammates Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

PENGUINS

Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury and Evgeni Malkin in warmups at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday

The first official tribute of any kind from the Penguins came at the first TV timeout. The Wild were readying for a penalty-kill after Jon Merrill cross-checked Noel Acciari, and the Penguins' videoboard ran a video highlighting what Fleury might be best known for off the ice: His pranks. The video ended with a message on-screen that read "Pranks for the memories."

Fleury couldn't watch it. He's been through tribute videos before, notably the video welcoming him back to Pittsburgh for the first time as a member of the Golden Knights. He got emotional then, and he didn't want to start welling up on the ice again ... especially not right before a penalty-kill.

"It definitely gives you butterflies," Fleury told me when I asked about the challenge of playing a hockey game through all the emotional moments. "They were showing a video, and I didn't want to look. Last time I was here and they showed a video, I was emotional. They had a power play, I was like, 'Just go! Drop the puck!'

The official briefly held off the faceoff as the videoboard showed Fleury, and fans gave him another loud ovation and chants of "FLEU-RY! FLEU-RY!". Fleury glanced up at the screen just briefly enough to salute the crowd:

There were more videos that played for Fleury throughout the night. This one that played was from the Wild's arrival to the arena that evening, where they were met with a giant "29" display fittingly made of flowers:

Then there was this one, the only prank to be pulled on Fleury during the trip. Max Talbot snuck into the Wild locker room (in disguise, of course) before Minnesota's morning skate and borrowed a few of Fleury's own go-tos:

Fleury said he didn't pull any pranks himself while in Pittsburgh, saying he stayed on a "clean path." But he grinned when talking about the Talbot prank after the game and vowed revenge: "I've got Max now, but he's not at the rink anymore. I know where he lives though," he said, rubbing his hands together, before saying "I'll find him!" in a sing-song voice."

The Penguins looked to be spoiling Fleury's party in the first period, leading 2-0 after goals from Valtteri Puustinen and Rickard Rakell, but four goals from the Wild over the rest of the first and the second period erased that lead and then some. Rakell cut the Wild's lead to one goal early in the third, and the Penguins were pushing hard for a tying goal. Lars Eller had a great chance ... only to be stopped by a diving shoulder save by Fleury:

Fleury admitted that after that stop on Eller, visions of a similar diving shoulder save in Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup flashed through his mind.

"Like old times, you know?"

The Penguins pulled Joel Blomqvist for the extra attacker late in the game as they looked for that tying goal. And though Fleury has long made known how badly he wants a goalie goal, he didn't dare consider taking that shot on this night.

"It didn't even cross my mind," Fleury said. "They dumped a couple times, I'm like, 'I am not coming out.' I didn't want to mess this up, we had a one-goal lead."

The Wild sealed the win with an empty-netter from Kirill Kaprizov, and Penguins fans again chanted "FLEU-RY! FLEU-RY" after the final buzzer sounded and Fleury was surrounded by his teammates. Fleury, naturally, was named the No. 1 star in the Wild's win. Crosby and Letang waited by the Penguins' bench and embraced Fleury before he took one final lap around the ice: 

Fleury said that Crosby and Letang told him, "Enjoy the lap. Congrats on the career. Enjoy the moment."

Fleury still has a few more months before he hangs up the skates for good. He'll likely get a few more sendoffs from his other former teams in Las Vegas and Chicago, as well as from his hometown Canadiens. But no stop on the farewell tour will be as meaningful as this one, and the Penguins did right in their celebration of Fleury.