Fleury's "It" Factor

For Penguins fans, Fleury is very frustrating to watch. He is consistently inconsistent to quote a very famous and annoying oxymoron. He'll stand on his head one night against Toronto, then let one of Mario Lemieux's illegitimate children put up four points on him in Minnesota a couple of nights later. People need to come to terms with the fact that Fleury is never going to be a dominating regular season goaltender. He will never be that Dominik Hasek or Martin Brodeur that wins Vezinas year after year. Honestly, blimp-sized Tim Thomas won a Vezina for Boston, so how prestigious can the award really be? What Fleury will do, however, is make the saves that matter most. That, above all else, is the MARC of a great goaltender.

Anyone who has watched Fleury play for an extended period of time will have no problem figuring out what I'm talking about. Fleury has a habit of giving up bad goals against bad teams. The first goal against Minnesota being the most recent. But, when the game is on the line, or if Fleury needs to make all the saves to keep his team in the game, absolutely nothing can get by him. An example was on display last night when Fleury stoned the Edmonton Oilers multiple times early in the 3rd period to keep the Penguins within striking distance. Who can forget Fleury's performance in the postseason last year? The best example of my theory is his performance against the Washington Capitals. Fleury had been very ordinary throughout the entire series. Game 7 rolls along and he makes a tremendous save against Ovechkin on a breakaway in the first three minutes of the game. It was obvious that the Capitals were demoralized after that and the Pens went on to steamroll them. Games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals speak for themselves. Every save facing elimination is a pressure-packed one.

Above all, Fleury has the ability to win games by one goal. Grant Fuhr had this knack. Tom Barrasso had this knack. Patrick Roy had this knack. If the Penguins score 7 goals, Fleury will give up 6. If the Penguins score 2 goals, Fleury will give up 1. The sign of a great goaltender is feeling how his team is performing that night and how many saves he will have to make. Fleury has an uncanny ability for this. The Fleury critics can keep on expounding their hate though because Fleury can't hear you all that well. He's got a Stanley Cup ring plugging his ear.