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Penguins hoping to build off Fleury's return

Dec 20, 2008 - 3:07 PM Toronto (12-13-6) at Pittsburgh (17-10-4), 7:00 pm EST

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins are happy to have Marc-Andre Fleury back.

Fleury will likely be back in the crease Saturday when the Penguins host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In his first game back in a month, Fleury steered aside 28 shots and Evgeni Malkin recorded two goals and two assists as Pittsburgh cruised to a 6-3 triumph over the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday.

"It was good (to be back)," Fleury said. "I was excited for the game. It's good to be back with the guys. It was fun to win it."

Without its No. 1 goaltender Fleury, Pittsburgh had struggled in December, winning just twice in seven games entering its tilt against the Thrashers.

Fleury returned to the ice on Thursday after missing 13 games with a back injury. The 24-year-old Pittsburgh netminder, who led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, was back making acrobatic saves. And the Penguins were back to their winning ways.

"We were hoping for a solid game (from Fleury)," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. "I thought he was phenomenal. He made key save after key save early in the game."

The Maple Leafs had a three-game winning streak snapped Thursday, suffering an 8-5 loss to the Boston Bruins.