Fleury Shines as Penguins Topple Blue Jackets

I may need therapy after this one.

In terms of gut-wrenching momentum swings and plot twists, last night’s 5-2 series clincher over Columbus in Game 5 might well have been the most emotionally draining Penguins game I’ve ever witnessed. I’ve seen some doozies over the years, but this one tops ‘em all.

Seated squarely atop a razor’s edge for a solid 60 minutes, I don’t think I’ve ever spent a game alternately cheering and cursing our fates as I did last night. Often in the same sentence.

Heck, we were up 5-2 with 10 minutes to play, and I was still blowing a gasket over our truly horrific defensive play. Members at Wright’s Gym, where I work and viewed the game, were giving the front desk an extremely wide berth. Wisely so.

I must’ve yelled “clear the puck” at the top of my lungs 100 times during the first two periods. Perhaps 50 more times during the last eight minutes, which felt like an interminably long Columbus power play.

Maybe Phil Bourque, the ol’ Two-Niner, will demonstrate how to clear the puck during his next Hockey 101 segment. I’d expect the entire Penguins team to be present. They handled the rubber in their own zone as if it were a live grenade. Or worse, a dirty diaper.

“I think there are a lot of things we can improve on and get better,” said Pens coach Mike Sullivan in what qualifies as the understatement of the millennium.

Enough venting.

Marc-Andre Fleury was magnificent. In perhaps the crowning performance of a career packed with plenty of ebbs and eddies, he stopped 49 shots, including enough prime scoring chances to fill a bushel basket.

How he did it, I’ll never know. “Flower” literally defies the laws of physics at times. A quicksilver bundle of instinct, sheer brilliance and pure athleticism. When he’s on, few can match him.

A lesser goalie might’ve crumbled in the face of the onslaught. Indeed, Marc-Andre would be perfectly within his rights to hire a shyster lawyer and sue his teammates for non-support. Instead, he placed the club on his slender shoulders and backstopped it to victory, in the process surpassing Tom Barrasso as the Pens’ all-time leader in postseason victories.

Fully appreciative of Flower’s supreme efforts, the PPG Paints Arena throng serenaded him with strains of “Fleury, Fleury” in the closing minutes.

Music to their hero’s ears.

“You still get butterflies and goosebumps when the crowd chants your name,” he said, flashing a winner’s smile.

Fleury was the man, no doubt. However, contrary to my earlier rant, he did have help. Phil Kessel lived up to his nickname, thrilling the capacity crowd with the game-opening tally on a rapier-like wrister that I still had trouble tracking on slow-motion replays. Wow, can he shoot the puck.

Bryan Rust continued to display a marvelous knack for rising the occasion with two clutch goals. Evgeni Malkin, runaway postseason scoring leader with 11 points, chipped in with three huge helpers.

Leave it to Sidney Crosby to come up large when his team needed him the most. With the Pens hanging on for dear life in the face of a ferocious Columbus push, our captain beat Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with a bolt from the lip of the right faceoff circle early in the final frame, courtesy of a pretty feed from Malkin.

Less than a minute later, at 6:22 to be precise, Scott Wilson fooled Bobrovsky with a stunning backhand pirouette worthy of Sid or “Geno.” The no-look flourish provided a much-needed cushion, not to mention the final margin of victory.

Hats off to the vanquished Blue Jackets, a worthy and dangerous foe if there ever was one. Down 3-0 early in the second period, with bruising Josh Anderson in the box to boot, they could’ve packed it in. Instead, the visitors mounted a scalding comeback to close the gap to one, out-shooting their bewildered hosts by a 12-0 margin over the last half of the period.

Although the Jackets’ spirited rally ultimately fell short, they gave the phrase “going out on your shield” a whole new meaning. Warriors all.

Given the intense nature of the series, I viewed the postgame handshake with great interest. Sullivan and Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella–close friends–hugged and shared a few words. The original odd couple, Anderson and Kessel, greeted each other with surprising warmth. Crosby conversed amiably with Jack Johnson, the big Columbus defenseman. I’d bet they bumped shoulders once or twice with malice aforethought during the course of the series.

Then came Brandon Dubinsky. Nobody plays No. 87 tougher, or with more vitriol, than the Blue Jackets’ disturber. They clasped hands in mutual respect, betraying no ill-will or animosity.

As they parted, Sid gave Dubinsky a little pat on the midsection as if to say nice series.

Indeed, it was.

Puckpourri

Columbus dominated Game 5 in shots on goal (51-32) and hits (37-18). For the series, the Blue Jackets outshot the Penguins 194-171, and outhit us by a whopping 197-137.

The Pens won 58 percent of the draws last night and controlled the faceoff circle for the series (52.5 %).

William Karlsson and Boone Jenner scored for the Blue Jackets, the second goal of the series for both. Columbus captain Nick Foligno sat out with an undisclosed injury. He was replaced by Scott Hartnell.

Sullivan shifted slumping Conor Sheary to the third line beside Wilson and Nick Bonino. Patric Hornqvist was elevated to the top line with Crosby and Jake Guentzel.

Guentzel’s goal-scoring streak was snapped at three games. Dating back to March 31, Jake has tallied at least one goal in eight of his past 10 games.

Going into tonight’s action, Malkin, Kessel, Crosby and Guentzel occupy the top four spots in the NHL postseason scoring race. The latter leads all skaters with five goals.