It’s a game that might have been circled by many far in advance because of one particular matchup — Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury against his former club and his former teammate Alex Burmistrov Jersey , Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray.Now, neither is expected to start Thursday when the teams play at PPG Paints Arena.Fleury, the one-time Pittsburgh franchise goalie who made an emotional return in February in a 5-4 Penguins win after the Golden Knights plucked him in the 2017 expansion draft, instead started Wednesday at Washington.Article continues below ...In a rematch of the Stanley Cup final in June, the Golden Knights (1-3) lost to the Capitals 5-2.“I don’t think it was our best game, and I think there are a lot of things that we can tighten up, and awareness is something we can do a much better job (of),” Vegas’ Reilly Smith said.Fleury http://www.officialcanucks.com/authentic-adidas-bo-horvat-jersey , who made 24 saves, is not expected to make back-to-back starts.Murray, meanwhile, sustained a concussion in practice Monday, his second concussion this calendar year and third of his NHL career. Because of the unpredictable nature of concussions, it is unknown how long he will be out. He has not practiced since getting hurt.So what was the big matchup instead will be Pittsburgh backup Casey DeSmith against Golden Knights backup Malcom Subban.Fleury’s return this time is a bit muted by his expected spot on the bench.“I think that probably plays into it, and the fact that he’s played here once already,” Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby Youth Brandon Sutter Jersey , a longtime close friend of Fleury’s, said, adding that Vegas is still a challenging opponent.“They’re a team that had a great year last year, have a lot of confidence built because of that. For us, not having played a lot of games so far this year, we’re just trying to find our game a bit and get some momentum.”The Penguins (1-1) have no trouble turning their attention instead to their performance. They have given up 11 goals in two games and were particularly dismayed with their performance in a 5-1 loss Saturday against Montreal.Since that loss, the team has had three practices to work on things, including one that lasted an hour that winger Jake Guentzel called “high intensity” with most players remaining on the ice at least another 30 minutes Brendan Leipsic Jersey Kids , and another not originally scheduled.“I hope we respond the right way,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “My commitment to them is to be straightforward to them.“We certainly weren’t pleased with the effort that we had in the last game. We’re trying to identify areas where we need to improve, and we spent three days working on those areas.”Concentrating on one’s own team is fine with Vegas, a marked opponent this season as the defending Western Conference champion.“One thing that we have to (do is) stop talking about last year,” the Golden Knights’ Jonathan Marchessault told The Athletic. “It’s a new year now. Last year is over. It’s a new team.” BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Patrik Berglund tells Sweden’s Hockeypuls.se he feels at peace and has no regrets after abruptly ending his hockey career by walking away from the Buffalo Sabres a little over two months into the season.“I just knew I had to go home to find myself again,” Berglund told the publication in speaking for the first time since the Sabres terminated the final three-and-a-half years left on his contract last month. The Sabres acted after suspending Berglund on Dec. 15 when he failed to report for the game at Washington.Berglund was interviewed at his home in Vasteras, Sweden. The story was published in Swedish on Friday and translated by Google.Berglund says he lost some of his passion for hockey last summer after being traded to Buffalo by St. Louis. Berglund was the Blues first-round draft pick in 2006 and spent 10 seasons in St. Louis.He says he had difficulty handling the move http://www.officialcanucks.com/authentic-adidas-brock-boeser-jersey , and eventually became tired of trying to hide his frustrations.Berglund says his emotions had nothing to do with playing in Buffalo, and he apologized to the Sabres for betraying them.Berglund provides no indication regarding his future plans. He added he’s not concerned about walking away from the remainder of his five-year, $19.25 million contract.“My contract, and all the money I gave up means nothing,” Berglund said. “I can give up that amount at any time to feel good inside.”
