Wild lose 4-3 to Penguins as Marc-Andre Fleury stays on bench in homecoming

PITTSBURGH — The Penguins kept scoring against Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson, but the crowd still encouraged the Wild to make a change in net.

They wanted to watch Marc-Andre Fleury.

In what could end up as his last game in Pittsburgh where he built his Hall of Fame career by winning three Stanley Cups, Fleury was on the bench as the Wild's backup.

But he was still the main attraction. Fans shouted "We want Fleury" throughout the Penguins' 4-3 victory on Monday night at PPG Paints Arena, the soundtrack to the Wild's first loss in four games.

"It was a little awkward, I would say," said Gustavsson, who was a Pittsburgh draft pick traded to Ottawa before he could ever debut for the Penguins. "It's what it is. The coach told me to play. I show up, do my job."

Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel each had a goal and assist, with Crosby scoring the tiebreaker at 6 minutes, 20 seconds of the third period on the power play and only 47 seconds after the Wild erased a 3-0 deficit.

"We tied the game up," Wild defenseman Jake Middleton said. "That one was a backbreaker, but we've just been taking too many penalties lately. It's been killing us."

An earlier assist moved Crosby into sole possession of 13th on the NHL's career scoring list (1,535), and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves.

But the player the crowd clamored for the most was a spectator just like them.

Coach John Hynes explained the decision to start Gustavsson vs. the Penguins and Fleury against the Bruins on Tuesday as "the plan that we have," with Hynes and goaltending coach Frédéric Chabot hashing out the goalies' schedule on a monthly basis.

Asked if he was disappointed not to be facing his former team, Fleury said, "A little bit, but that's OK. I get to play [Tuesday]. Team's been good. Team's been winning lately. Gus has been awesome. Just gotta keep it rolling."

Instead, the Wild hit the brakes after sputtering early while missing defensemen Jonas Brodin (upper-body injury) and Jared Spurgeon (lower body) and winger Mats Zuccarello (upper body).

Spurgeon didn't make the trip, while Zuccarello's injury (which is considered day to day) was announced just before puck drop and a stagnant start for the Wild, who had won three in a row.

Reilly Smith was the beneficiary of a behind-the-net turnover by Alex Goligoski that popped out in front to Smith for a rising backhander 7:39 into the first period that elicited the first boisterous "We want Fleury" holler of the evening.

Only 36 seconds into the second, Pittsburgh doubled its lead on the power play when Guentzel tipped in an Erik Karlsson one-timer.

Cue the crowd calls for Fleury, which resumed at 3:34 after Malkin polished off a 2-on-1 into an open side with a no-chance shot for Gustavsson (26 saves).

"Who doesn't love Flower?" Hynes said. "He's had a great career. He's been fantastic here, not only on the ice [but] off the ice. Not surprised."

Trailing 3-0, the Wild finally bounced back.

Ryan Hartman buried a Brock Faber rebound at 15:06 of the second and then with 2:30 left in the period, Middleton finished off a puck hauled to the middle by Matt Boldy for a career-high fifth goal.

Vinni Lettieri, who subbed in the lineup with Zuccarello out, then delivered the equalizer on a deflection 5:33 into the third. Daemon Hunt's assist on the play secured his first NHL point.

But penalty trouble prevented the Wild from completing their comeback, an issue that was identified after the team committed five penalties in a 2-1 shootout victory Saturday vs. Vancouver.

"It's gotta come to a stop," Hynes said.

Only 12 seconds after Lettieri scored, Kirill Kaprizov was whistled for high-sticking, the Wild's fifth of seven penalties that ranged from holding the stick to interference.

The Penguins' power play went 2-for-5 after Crosby's goal, a puck that pinballed in front of the Wild net before reaching Crosby.

"When you look at the types of penalties we took and the amount of penalties," Hynes said, "that was the difference in the game."

As for the Wild, their power play blanked on all three of their tries.

"When you're giving the other team's power play an opportunity to make a difference in the game, then you're not on the right side of winning a lot and that's the mentality we gotta get to," Hynes said. "We'll certainly address it, and I'm confident in this group that we will be better with it moving forward starting [Tuesday]."