Oct. 10, 2003.
That was the last time the Penguins began a season without either Evgeni Malkin (selected in the 2004 draft) or Sidney Crosby (2005 draft).
In his NHL debut, 25-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury made 46 saves— but he couldn’t save the Penguins, who were shut out by the visiting LA Kings in a packed Mellon Arena.
Fleury faced off against Los Angeles Kings goaltender Cristobal Huet in a start he probably wasn’t imagining when he donned his first Penguins sweater at the top of the 2003 draft. Five seconds into a first-minute Penguins power play, the Kings shattered the man-advantage set-up on a shorthanded breakaway, where Eric Belanger rung the puck off the cross-bar as Fleury’s glove was still rising to mark the first goal-against of his career just 38 seconds into the start.