Penguins use 5-goal blitz to spoil Fleury's emotional homecoming

The Penguins, throughout the history of their franchise, have been known to crank up dizzying displays of offensive brilliance on a pretty regular basis.

For more than a decade, Marc-Andre Fleury was the beneficiary of it.

On Tuesday night, he was tasked with trying to stop it.

On an emotional night for the 33-year-old goaltender, he could not.

Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel each had a goal and an assist and the Penguins used a five-goal offensive outburst to knock off Fleury and the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 at PPG Paints Arena.

The Penguins have won eight straight home games. Overall, they are 11-4-0 since Jan. 1.

"Now I get to see what the other goalies face all these years," Fleury said. "These guys, it's good to play against them, but they're very talented, very fast and they are able to create a lot of space and time for themselves to get some goals."

Meanwhile, at the other end of the ice, Matt Murray was enjoying the prodigious offensive support Fleury grew so accustomed to over the years.

"It can't be easy going against us, especially when certain guys are playing the way they are," Murray said. "To be honest, I don't really want to find out.

"It's fun to watch on this end, though, for sure. It's something that becomes normal around here. We have so many good players in this room. I say it all the time. We all feel so lucky to be a part of this team and get to watch some of these guys. They're just so special and some of the best to ever play the game. Growing up as a kid, you dream of an opportunity to play with guys like this. It's pretty cool."

Fleury made 33 saves in his first game in Pittsburgh since being selected by Vegas in last June's expansion draft. The emotions of his return were amped up about seven minutes into the first period when the Penguins paid tribute to him on the video board.

While fans gave a pulsating ovation that lasted more than a minute, Fleury removed his glove to wipe tears from his eyes.

"I was happy I had a mask on," Fleury said.

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The emotional outpouring didn't hinder Fleury's game at all. Quite the contrary. He played an outstanding first period, stopping a Sidney Crosby redirect on the game's first shift and a Jake Guentzel breakaway later.

"I thought our guys did a good job," Fleury said. "They kept them away for awhile after the video. That was nice."

They didn't keep the Penguins away forever, though. An offensive outburst that included five goals in a 16-minute span began about 11 minutes into the second period.

Unexpectedly, Ryan Reaves started it, forcing a turnover on the forecheck and beating Fleury over the glove from the left wing. Reaves was never a teammate of Fleury's.

"He knows how everybody shoots," Reaves said. "He doesn't know my change-up with the eyes closed."

Ian Cole scored for the second time in as many games against Fleury and the Golden Knights. Guentzel's goal with less than two minutes left in the second gave the Penguins the lead for good.

In the first seven minutes of the third period, Malkin and Kessel combined for two goals. Malkin has nine goals in his last five games. Kessel is within one point of the league scoring lead.

Vegas scored twice late before the Penguins stiffened and held on.

"It's fun, especially when (Malkin) and Phil are tic-tac-toeing around the ice like they were," Cole said. "It's really special to watch."

The Penguins played the last two periods without forwards Tom Kuhnhackl and Carter Rowney. Both have lower-body injuries. Coach Mike Sullivan did not have updates on their condition postgame.

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BombulieTrib.