Expected to serve as backup to Matt Murray, who backstopped the team to a Stanley Cup win in 2016, Fleury was pressed into action against the Columbus Blue Jackets when the incumbent fell prey to injury prior to the start of the postseason.
Four victories later, Fleury has set a club record for career playoff wins, passing Tom Barasso.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped a playoff career-high 49 shots to earn his 57th career playoff win, a new #Pens record. Way to go, Flower! pic.twitter.com/x7YteuC8We
Fleury may not have many starts for the Penguins left in his future, depending when Murray is able to return, how far the team goes in the playoffs, and whether he's moved in the offseason, whether by trade or through the expansion draft.
As such, he's making sure to take it all in while he can.
"Once you realize you don't know what's coming for you, you just try to enjoy it," Fleury said after Game 5, per Wes Crosby of NHL.com.
"To be here at home, in front of our fans, and to be able to get that win ... I still get butterflies and goosebumps."
Fleury said he wanted to get that win in front of the fans because of how they've supported him throughout this year. #Pens
Matthews and Laine were drafted first and second overall, respectively, at the 2016 draft, and finished in the same positions in regards to the rookie scoring race.
The Toronto center recorded 40 goals and 29 assists in 82 games, and while Laine, a winger, trailed in total numbers (36 goals, 28 assists in 73 games), his 0.88 points per game was slightly higher than Matthews' 0.84.
Werenski, the eighth overall selection at the 2015 NHL Draft, led rookie defensemen in goals (11), assists (36) and points (47) in 78 games.
The NHL Awards will be handed out on June 21 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
"One of the most special moments I've lived as a coach," Boucher said of the goal, according to Brent Wallace of TSN.
Boucher added that he had goosebumps, telling Dan Seguin of CBC: "When (MacArthur) raised his arms, the whole city raised its arms."
MacArthur's previous goal came during the 2015 playoffs, with a series of concussions largely keeping him out of the lineup since that time.
For his part, Boucher did come within a win of the Stanley Cup Final with Tampa Bay back in 2011, but his first postseason with Ottawa has clearly left a lasting impression, due in part to MacArthur's inspiring play.
In a tightly-contested Game 1 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals, the Leafs proved they can hang with the Presidents' Trophy winners, as far as goalie Frederik Andersen is concerned.
"We showed we can play with them and we've got to keep playing better throughout the game and improve next game too," Andersen told reporters.
While the end result didn't fall in their favor, Andersen believes there are some positive lessons to be gleaned in order to ensure this series is far from over.
"It's one game obviously and not the end result we wanted," he said. "We played really good and I think we showed we can play with these guys. That was a good game for us, but obviously you don't get a win for that. We've got to come back and play the same way and better."
Andersen stopped 41 of 44 shots fired by the Capitals, and was a major reason why the game was pushed to overtime.
Tom Wilson has offered the perfect rebuttal to Mike Babcock's scouting report.
The gritty Washington Capitals forward scored the overtime goal to give his team a Game 1 win, belying the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach's assessment of him heading into the series.
"Nothing against (Wilson) because he works hard and all that, but he's not as big of concern as lot of people on their team," Babcock said Tuesday, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post.
In fairness, Wilson is far down on the list of Washington's expected offensive heroes, but the game-winner - his first career playoff goal - came on a pretty nice shot.
To his credit, Wilson - known more for his physical play than offensive prowess - admitted Babcock may have had a point.
Wilson acknowledged he saw this tweet. Said Babcock had a true point. https://t.co/n84qglu6iS
As the head coach of the visiting team in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Mike Babcock has a clear goal in mind for his underdog Toronto Maple Leafs: Take the crowd out of it early.
"There’s nothing like a bunch of fans who have long faces, who are sitting on their hands and are nervous like you can’t believe," Babcock said Thursday, per Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star. "That obviously is the goal for us."
The host Washington Capitals enter the postseason as the Presidents' Trophy winners for the second straight season, and are favored by many to come out of the Eastern Conference. A first-round series against the last team to clinch a spot should be a short part of that journey.
In the Alex Ovechkin era, however, this team has never advanced past the second round, and even small bumps along the road can make the most ardent of believers begin to question the Capitals.
An early goal or two from the upstart Maple Leafs would indeed silence the Washington faithful.
Capitals' head coach Barry Trotz, then, is making sure his team doesn't take anything lightly.
"Toronto's not coming here not to win. They're coming here to win and our job is to make sure that we're making sure that they don't win."
The team's longtime starting goalie basically lost his job around this time last year, when Matt Murray stepped in as an injury replacement and took the team to a Stanley Cup championship.
Fleury played the role of backup all season, and was thought to have made his final start as a Penguin in the regular-season finale, with Murray set to backstop another playoff run.
But instead of sitting on the bench wondering whether he'll be traded this summer or snagged in the upcoming expansion draft, Fleury was called upon as a late starter for Wednesday's Game 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He proceeded to stop 31 of 32 shots in a 3-1 win, proving general manager Jim Rutherford right for keeping Fleury around as insurance.
"(Fleury is a) good competitor, good pro, and he's a great teammate. It was (a) difficult year, but he handled it as well as anyone," Sullivan added.
To his credit, Fleury has indeed handled the situation with grace and class all season long, and was not fazed by getting the late call in Game 1.
"I just tried to approach it as a regular game and just be ready for it," Fleury said postgame.
The nature and extent of Murray's injury is not yet known, and it's possible Fleury returns to the bench for Game 2. But as long as he's in Pittsburgh, he'll do all he can to help the Penguins win another Cup.
Pressed into playoff duty after late-season injuries to defensemen Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo, McAvoy logged 24:11 of ice time in a Game 1 win over the Ottawa Senators, second only to Zdeno Chara (25:32) among all players.
The extra minutes came not only on the power play, but also in the absence of Colin Miller, who was forced to leave Game 1 with an injury of his own.
McAvoy certainly didn't seem to mind:
Big smile postgame for Charlie McAvoy. "I love playing hockey."
It's been a whirlwind few weeks for McAvoy, who wrapped up his time at Boston University, had a brief stint with the Bruins' AHL club, and was then signed to an entry-level deal and called up to the NHL.
Based on his debut, McAvoy - who was drafted 14th overall in 2016 - appears to be in the Bruins' lineup for good.