‘Flower’ blossoms: Fleury back to being great playoff goalie
Anyone who has played with Marc-Andre Fleury can tell he's dialed in by watching his mannerisms.
Last year, he rubbed the shaft of his stick after making a save with it on Alex Ovechkin. This year, he continued a career-long tradition of rubbing the post as a sign of appreciation for keeping a puck out.
''That's when you know he's in the zone,'' Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maatta said.
Fleury is in one of the best zones of his career in the playoffs with the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who have followed up a magical inaugural season with a trip to the Western Conference final. The goaltending of Fleury is the biggest reason they've gotten this far and is a continuation of his remarkable playoff reputation rehabilitation.
After taking the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008 and winning it all in 2009, Fleury lost four of the next five series he played and each postseason posted a save percentage under .900. He has since gotten his groove back, helping the Penguins win the Cup again a year ago, and now leads the NHL playoffs with a 1.53 goals-against average, .951 save percentage and four shutouts.
''I don't think it was anything physically that he changed,'' former Penguins teammate and current Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik said. ''It was all confidence-driven. He's always been a guy who's really competitive and really loose at the same time. I think it was just confidence. I think he needed a fresh start. Maybe he just needed a clean slate, and you perform better when you're more appreciated.''
It's impossible not to appreciate the impact ''Flower'' has made in the desert as the face of a new franchise as he went 29-13-4 with a 2.24 GAA and .927 save percentage for Pacific Division-winning Vegas. The fresh start might have rejuvenated Fleury more than a decade into his career, but his bounce-back in becoming a great playoff goalie again is six years in the making.
The low point came in 2012. Fleury allowed 26 goals over six games to Philadelphia in a first-round exit. The next playoffs, backup Tomas Vokoun started more games, and it was fair to wonder if Fleury had lost it.
''You learn from losing,'' Fleury said Wednesday. ''You learn from tough times and pressure and stuff like that. It made me a better goalie from it.''
Now-Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen was there for some of the struggles but didn't level them all on Fleury. By 2014, he noticed a different goalie.
''There was a period of time there where maybe (it was) not entirely his fault, a few things went wrong and it snowballed on him and he had a tough go there, I think, mentally for a couple springs,'' Niskanen said. ''But by the time of my last year there he was really good again.''
The scars of another second-round exit led to more blame for Fleury, who was scapegoated for a team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin not doing more after the Cup in 2009.
''Sometimes it's the way your team plays in front of you,'' said Penguins winger Carl Hagelin, who beat Fleury with the Rangers in playoff series in 2014 and 2015. ''Sometimes, like any other player, you might have a bad series or a bad playoffs and I think for a goalie if you have that, people are going to be all over you.''
Following a forgettable first-round loss to Hagelin and the Rangers in 2015, Fleury had one of his best regular seasons. But he was nevertheless replaced as Pittsburgh's playoff starter by Matt Murray on the way to the Cup in 2016.
Before he played a substantial role in the Penguins' second consecutive title run, Fleury agreed to waive his no-movement clause to go to Vegas in the expansion draft. Golden Knights general manager George McPhee, whose 2009 Capitals lost to Fleury in the second round, said Dave Prior was insistent on adding Fleury because the veteran goaltending coach felt there was more improvement to be made in his game.
''He obviously studies goaltenders all around the league and looks at the way that they're playing the game,'' McPhee said. ''He was excited and he really advocated for him in our meetings and thought that he could make him even better than he's been. We like the calming effect he has on this team. When he plays, he's really good when you need him the most. Needless to say you don't get to the third round in this league unless you got a goaltender that's playing well.''
Fleury will be playing in the third round for the fifth time in his career, a testament to the 33-year-old's willingness to adjust as he has gotten older, including eating the right food, training meticulously and allowing his body to recover.
''When you're young, you eat whatever, you never hurt, I never stretched, I could do the splits, it was easier,'' Fleury said. ''Now I got to do more to maintain that flexibility and comfortness in the net. The older you get, things tend to linger around longer and you got to find ways to feel loose and feel good when games come around.''
Players are rarely worried about Fleury being tight. Even when Murray took his starting job, Fleury didn't let it affect his mood at the rink.
''For him it definitely wasn't easy because I'm sure he knew how he good he is and everybody else knew how good he is,'' Maatta said. ''He still kind of kept showing up smiling and being an awesome teammate all the time even though he was probably in a tough spot.''
The laughs during the bad times have endeared Fleury to teammates who watch his playoff success with Vegas with great joy.
''Cares about the group, has fun at the rink, competitive as heck, cares about the right things,'' Niskanen said. ''It's not surprising at all that he's done as well as he has there. It's surprising how well the team has done but not him specifically. He's a really good goalie and a perfect fit for them.''
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Freelance reporter W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed.
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Follow Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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