There’s a revival of sorts going on in the ‘Burgh these days. One involving a slender 32 year old from Sorel, Quebec with dark, flashing eyes and a shy, ready smile.
During his past four outings—all of them wins—Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury posted a microscopic 1.79 goals against average and equally gaudy .943 save percentage. A welcome turnaround from the string of troubling performances that plagued “Flower” during November and early December and cost him the starting job.
| Flower by the Numbers | ||||||
| Month | GP | MINS | GA | GAA | SV% | W-L-T |
| October | 9 | 525 | 27 | 3.09 | .909 | 6-2-1 |
| November | 6 | 346 | 22 | 3.88 | .889 | 0-3-2 |
| December | 9 | 417 | 18 | 2.59 | .924 | 6-0-1 |
| Total | 24 | 1288 | 67 | 3.12 | .909 | 12-5-1 |
The past nine months have been bittersweet for the soft-spoken goalie, to say the least. Struggling to shake the lingering effects of a concussion, he watched from the end of the bench as rookie phenom Matt Murray stepped into his customary spot between the pipes and helped pace the Pens to a Stanley Cup.
“I did my best to keep everyone upbeat and in a better mood around the team,” Fleury told Robert LaFlamme of LNH.com. “I wanted to play, but that was the situation. The team was winning. The most important thing for me was to be a good teammate.”
With trade speculation rampant, GM Jim Rutherford was quick to reassure Fleury of his value to the team. Granted a reprieve of sorts when Murray suffered a broken hand at the World Cup last fall, No. 29 reclaimed the starting job and backstopped the Pens to a respectable 6-2-1 start.
However, when Murray returned from the IR in November, Fleury’s play began to slip. Prone to maddening bouts of inconsistency throughout his 13-year career, his fundamentals deteriorated while old flaws resurfaced.
After several shaky starts, culminating in a dismal 6-2 loss to Minnesota on November 25, he appeared to lose the confidence of black-and-gold coach Mike Sullivan, who once more turned to Murray as his go-to guy.
Clearly pressing, Fleury’s game sank to new lows. Yielding four goals on 16 shots, he was yanked midway through a home game against Ottawa on December 5. Rallying around Murray, the Pens began an immediate turnaround, striking for three goals in six minutes to emerge victorious.
Over the next two weeks Flower faded from view while Murray started five straight games, winning four. A solid outing upon his return in an overtime loss to Toronto on December 17 did little to restore the luster to Fleury’s dimmed reputation—or elevate him to co-starter status.
Then came the debacle in Columbus. After falling behind early, the Blue Jackets strafed Murray for six goals in a span of 30 minutes. For the first time since his Steel City debut nearly a year ago to the day, the Thunder Bay native was visibly rattled. Leaving Sullivan little choice but to pull the kid goalie.
Perhaps it had something to do with his partner’s sudden vulnerability. While Murray lost his composure, Fleury appeared to regain his in one fell swoop.
Given a start in the Pens’ next game, Flower flashed his old form while limiting New Jersey to a single goal. Sullivan stuck with Fleury in a return engagement with the Devils. His faith was rewarded with another victory.
Following a sensational 19-save effort against Carolina—this time in relief of an injured Murray—Fleury stopped 37 shots with a vintage performance against Montreal on New Year’s Eve to earn the game’s No. 2 star.
A welcome turn of events for the Pens’ two-time MVP and all-time winningest goalie. Not to mention his adoring legion of followers, who delight in chanting his name.
Fleury’s teammates, too.
“He’s not only one of the best teammates that you can have, he’s a (heck) of a player,” said good friend Kris Letang.
I love MAF, right from draft day to even now, but like Jim says Pen’s need to protect Matt Murray for the now and future, Marc is not the long term future in goal for us, his value is high, some teams are looking for goalie help let’s move him and get cap relief and some help now or some picks or prospects.
Hey Pen’s 4ever,
Good to hear from you … 🙂
By writing this feature, I wasn’t hinting that the Pens keep Fleury and expose Murray in the expansion draft. I think even the most ardent of MAF supporters would agree that Murray is the future in the Pens’ goal.
Still, Flower’s had such a rough time over the past nine months or so, and I’ve been a critic in the past. So I wanted to give him some well deserved props for his recent turnaround.
From everything I’ve ever read or heard about him, they just don’t come any better or nicer.
Rick
Hey Rick,
I am happy for MAF that he has found his ” old Groove” back and he continues to get better with each outing.That is good news for the Team, and also for MAF and his future in Hockey. You all know where I stand on the goalie situation moving forward in Pittsburgh, so the only thing I can add is…If we lose Murray in the expansion draft this summer and thereby get nothing in return, and or for sentimental reasons we choose to go with the 32-33 year old who makes 5.7 million dollars a year for the next 2 years, instead of the 22 year old, who for the next 3 years will make about 3 million dollars a year, and has the potential for 10 more good years as our number 1 starter…..Does not make sense to me….
But for now let us enjoy the” old flower” and hope he gets a shut out for us tomorrow, if he plays. If he is still sick, then Tristan Jarry will get the call, and that is one guy I want to see how he plays in a high tempo game with Tampa, especially when Victor Hedman fires a 90 MPH slap shot up by his ears.
He may wish he stayed in the AHL.
Let’s Go Pens.
Cheers.