PITTSBURGH — Things are slowing down for Marc-André Fleury, according to his coach, Michel Therrien, which is good news for Therrien and the Pittsburgh Penguins because too much often came too quickly at the start of Fleury's NHL career.
In June of 2003, the Penguins made the native of Sorel, Que., the first overall pick in the entry draft. Later that year, Fleury made his first NHL start in goal at 18, a dangerous age for goaltenders to be thrown into the big leagues. He wound up splitting that season between the Penguins, his junior team, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, and the Penguins farm team in the AHL.
Once the lockout was over in the summer of 2005, Fleury spent most of his time with the Penguins, but did not enjoy steady progress toward the stardom forecast for him. By the start of this season, his third full NHL campaign, there were still plenty of doubters.
Fleury, admittedly nervous along with most of his equally young teammates, had a tough time a year ago in his first playoff experience. Making his first start in front of a hostile crowd in Ottawa, Fleury was lit up by the Senators for six goals and the Penguins were eliminated in five games.
When he got off to a slow start this season, the critics came back. Then he sprained his ankle on Dec. 6 and missed 28 games. Fill-in Ty Conklin turned out to be outstanding, and by the time Fleury returned to the lineup on Feb. 28, there were doubts he could get his job back as the No.1 goaltender.
However, the 23-year-old was a different goaltender. He ran up a 10-2-1 record after his return and did not allow two or more goals in 19 of his last 20 starts.
Fleury kept that roll going when the Penguins met the Senators once again in the playoffs. His first postseason shutout in Wednesday's 4-0 win in the opener of the Eastern Conference quarter-final marked his 11th consecutive win at the Mellon Arena.
The difference, according to Therrien, is that Fleury became mature enough to see the game in a different light.
"He's calm, the game is going slower in front of him," Therrien said. "When you're young, especially a goalie, sometimes the goals go quick, so your reactions are quicker [and not always correct].
"Now, he sees the play [better]. He's not surprised with plays, with shots. He's always square to the puck. No doubt, for the last month and a half, this is the best I've seen him."
Therrien and Fleury have been together since both were with the Penguins farm team. The coach was never one of the doubters. He argued this season that his goaltender was merely the victim of inflated expectations.
"The one thing we can't forget is that [Fleury] is the youngest No.1 goalie in the league," Therrien said shortly before Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens usurped that designation. "He is still learning. It seemed a lot of people were panicking, but we weren't panicking because we knew his game was going to get back where it was supposed to be."
Now things are falling into place for Fleury to become the latest young goaltender to take his team a long way in the playoffs, ŕ la Cam Ward and the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. This time, Fleury made his first start of the playoffs at home and teammate Gary Roberts scored an early goal to settle the goaltender's nerves.
"I felt more loose this year than I did last year," Fleury said. "I knew what to expect a little bit. It's always a bit stressful out there, but I still felt pretty comfortable.
"It's always fun to have the fans on your side right away. You could tell when we scored that first goal, it was a good booster for us. I got really excited and breathed a little easier."
Fleury finished the game with 26 saves in a solid rather than spectacular outing. But he did not need to be spectacular, because his teammates did an excellent job shutting down the injury-plagued Senators.
The Penguins blanked the Ottawa power play seven times, including two 5-on-3 situations.
"The guys did a good job keeping [the Senators'] shots coming from farther out," Fleury said. "The defence blocked a lot of shots, too."
Fleury's night also served to boost more than just Fleury's confidence in himself.
"Whenever your goalie is playing well, it gives your team a certain kind of confidence," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "He's done the job."
