Dick Tarnstrom’s memories of the opening game of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2003-04 season against the Los Angeles Kings are fuzzy.

The lone exception is the Penguins’ starting goaltender that night, an 18-year-old bundle of energy and springy legs making his NHL debut: Marc-Andre Fleury.

“He was awesome,” Tarnstrom, a former Penguins defenseman, said by phone Saturday. “He stepped on the ice, he was unreal.

“He’s one of a kind.”

Fleury is unique for a variety of reasons. One of them is his affable nature. Another is the fact he’s still playing more than 20 years later.

A sure bet to be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame whenever his career is over, Fleury is in the winter of a dazzling existence as an NHLer.

While he has not definitively said this is his final year, the 39-year-old Fleury has openly acknowledged he could retire this upcoming offseason.

On Monday, Fleury and his current team, the Minnesota Wild, face the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

It could be his final visit to Pittsburgh as an active player.

Just over two decades earlier, Fleury took the first steps in his career in Pittsburgh.

On Oct. 10, 2003, Fleury — barely three months removed from being the top overall selection in the NHL Draft — took to the ice of the Mellon Arena in front of a standing-room only crowd of 16,986.

It was a lopsided affair in which the home team was barely competitive. In a 3-0 loss, the Penguins were outshot 49-11 by the Kings.

The only reason the final score wasn’t more lopsided was Fleury. He made 46 saves on 48 shots — the Kings’ third goal came on an empty net — and gave the Penguins hope in that contest.

And for the future.

While the Penguins were largely run out of their own building, the game turned into a celebration of Fleury and the optimism he provided in what was a bleak time for the franchise.

Before Evgeni Malkin (2004) or Sidney Crosby (2005) were drafted, Fleury was the face of the Penguins’ rebuild.

And it began in that one-sided loss to the Kings more than 20 years ago.

Recently, Fleury watched three video clips from that game and shared his thoughts with TribLive.

First impressions

As is customary, the Penguins introduced their season-opening roster. And the star of the show, as always, was franchise pillar Mario Lemieux, who was the final player to be introduced.

The player before him?

Fleury.

Beloved public address announcer John Barbero’s mellow but commanding voice introduced Pittsburgh to its newest superstar.

“Starting in goal tonight, the Penguins are proud to welcome, the first overall pick in this year’s entry draft, number 29, Marc. Andre. Fleureeeeeee….”

With a spotlight shining on him and arena anthem “Rock and Roll Part 2” pumping, Fleury, donning flashy yellow gear, chugged from the rampway leading to the home dressing room to the blue line to join his new teammates.

Twenty years ago tonight, John Barbero introduced Marc-Andre Fleury to Pittsburgh: pic.twitter.com/AOWK8Cvw58

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) October 10, 2023

“I just remember being a little nervous at the Mellon (Arena),” Fleury said. “Maybe a little surprised by the welcome that I got from the fans in Pittsburgh, how loud it was. It was a dream for me coming true, skating on the NHL ice for the first time.”

That elegant moment had a hiccup, however.

“Usually, I always leave my stick on the way out to the ice,” Fleury said. “For some reason, after warmup, I left my stick beside my stall. Once we went to the game for the lineup to go on the ice, I get up and put my mask on — excited — put my gloves on, walk toward the ice and give everybody high fives on the way down, fist bumps. I get all the way to the front of the line and then I was like ‘Oh (shoot), I forgot my stick.’ So I had to walk all the way back into the locker room and go grab my stick and walk back in front of all the guys. I felt pretty embarrassed.

“I think Mario said something like, ‘You’re going to need this tonight, kid.’”

False start

It didn’t take long for Fleury to get acclimated to the dire situation the Penguins were in.

To be precise, it took about 38 seconds.

After Kings defenseman Jaroslav Modry took a hooking penalty 29 seconds into regulation, the Penguins were granted a power-play opportunity.

After Penguins defenseman Drake Berehowsky fumbled a puck at the left point of the offensive zone on the ensuing faceoff, Kings forward Eric Belanger wound up with a breakaway and attacked the net, scoring a short-handed goal on the first shot Fleury faced in his NHL career.

pic.twitter.com/592guFz2vm

— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) October 29, 2024

“Definitely not the start I was picturing of what I wanted,” Fleury guffawed. “I just remember thinking — I don’t know if I can say this — ‘Oh (shoot)! They already got one in.’ For some reason, that didn’t bother me too long. Maybe the fact that I had many shots after, it was easy to stay in the game. Didn’t get too frustrated early, but I was hoping to make a better first impression.”

A home

At 17:40 of the third period, Kings forward Esa Pirnes was awarded a penalty shot.

By this point, the Kings had built up a two-goal lead and were bombarding the Penguins’ net with shots. But a valiant effort by Fleury kept the deficit low.

A goal here would have surely put it out of reach.

Taking the puck at center ice, Pirnes raced in on net and before he could fire a wrister, Fleury — with what would become a signature of his career — reached out with a poke check, knocking the puck away.

Penguins fans, weary from seeing their team struggle ever since Jaromir Jagr departed in 2001, stood and offered a roaring applause for Fleury.

That night, Marc-Andre Fleury introduced to the world - and to Esa Pirnes (who is a very nice fellow @essipir12) - his trademark poke check.

Mike Lange captured the moment perfectly. https://t.co/Fb73yWPJsw pic.twitter.com/XztE0MgM77

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) October 10, 2023

“It was late in the third,” Fleury said. “By that point, I had a few saves, a few shots. I was still nervous. One-on-one going with an NHL player going (on a penalty shot). I just tried a poke check. Everything worked out. The response from the crowd, being down 2-0 at that point in the game and still the cheers and how loud it was in the building, that was very special.”

As was usually the case, broadcaster Mike Lange captured the moment perfectly.

“He’s found a home in the city of Pittsburgh,” Lange said on what was then Fox Sports Pittsburgh. “Marc-Andre Fleury. He’s the hero of the night, and they’re losing two-nothing. No question about it! You can feel it. You can see it!”

When the final horn sounded, the unique logistics of the Mellon Arena led to a unique moment.

“In that day, the visiting team had to go across the ice in front of our net to get to their locker room, which is not normal,” Lange said by phone. “When (the Kings) came off the bench at the end of the game, en masse, they came over and tapped him on the pads. Almost every guy on their way to the room, for the performance and what he did. It will never happen again … where another team would do that.

“It was pretty special, and it was for a pretty special guy. It was a pretty moving moment.”

Lange’s sentiments resonate with Fleury more than 20 years after the fact.

“Mike Lange said I found myself a home,” Fleury said. “He was right. I was able to play there for (13) years. Only good memories from it. I will always be appreciative of the crowd in Pittsburgh, the support they’ve given me over the years.”

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