LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A bittersweet moment for Vegas Golden Knights fans Saturday as they watched their former goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury return to T-Mobile Arena, but this time on an opposing team.
And Fleury welcomed himself back to town with a Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 victory.
“Fleury is Vegas. He is the heart and soul and the foundation of the Vegas Golden Knights. He always will be," said fan Stu MacArthur ahead of the game.
Fans filled Toshiba plaza before tonight's game against the Blackhawks to get to see their beloved award-winning goaltender in action.
One fan even traveled from North Dakota to Las Vegas to see his favorite goalie.
“It was important for us to come back for T-Mobile Arena. If you look around out here there’s a lot of people that are wearing Fleury jerseys from when he played with the Golden Knights. It’s not so much a knights thing it’s a Fleury thing," said fan Rick Schreiber.
For one young hockey player, Fleury is a huge inspiration, and being able to see him in person was a special moment, even if he was on a different team.
“I grew up, and I was like, oh, a goalie is a good position for me, and then I found Fleury as the goalie, and then I fell in love with it," fan Dominic Nowicki said.
Saturday's game was one of the only games where some fans may not have been upset when the opposing team won, leaving many fans torn.
“So I’ll be rooting for Fleury, but it’s hard for me to root against the Knights at the same time. Fleury is just my absolute favorite player," said fan Sarah Alonso.
