The City of Pittsburgh and it’s fans pride themselves on championships, hall-of-fame players, and continued success. Anything short of raising banners is tough to swallow as the fuse for mediocrity is short in the Burgh. So Harp, criticize, and boo Marc Andre-Fleury all you want, but Fleury in my opinion is the Pittsburgh Penguins’ team MVP at this point in the season.
Long Road Back….
It’s been repeated by every Fleury hater that his past success is due in large part to playing on one of the most talented teams in the league. Fleury has certainly been the benefactor of his high scoring teams in past seasons (Tom Barrasso, Grant Fuhr) but this year is a different story.
For the first time in years, the Pens aren’t employing a veteran back-up goalie to take some of the workload away from him. Fleury has been between the pipes for 18 of the Pens 22 games this season as he has been the backbone of this team when every fan including myself had lost faith in him after last season.
Strive for Greatness….
Fleury is on his usual pace to collect at least 35 wins again this season. Despite the fact that Fleury is stacking wins and is tied for second among goalies with 13 victories, his individual stats are the best of his career. He’s boasting a .924 save percentage, even more impressive is his goals against average. His GAA is 1.90, also well above any season best. Fleury’s best GAA for an entire season is 2.32 and his career GAA is 2.63.
Reason to Believe….
While fans, including myself, demanded all summer that Fleury be shipped after the Pens demoralizing playoff exit against the Boston Bruins, he didn’t blink. On top of that, Fleury agreed to see a sports psychologist and to this point, Fleury is a changed man between the pipes. Furthermore, Fleury no longer looks like a turtle on his back in net as there’s now a subtle calmness to the goaltender.
This week, in a battle for Metropolitan Division supremacy, the Pens put out their best effort of the season against the Washington Capitals. Fleury picked up his second shutout of the season against one of the highest scoring teams in the league. He was in the zone stopping all 18 shots, killing off the Capitals’ three first period power play opportunities, and stone-walling Alex Ovechkin, the top goal-scorer in the league.
Everything will be earned….
The Pittsburgh Penguins played a near perfect game against the CapitalsWednesday night. For Fleury, he has been the backstop, the consistent component to the Pens thus far into the season. Furthermore, there are no awards, no hardware given out in November. However for the first time in a few years, Fleury is carrying his team and for that reason, Marc Andre-Fleury is the Pens’ team MVP to this point of the season.
(Photo Credit: Graham Hughes, AP / The Canadian Press)
