Pittsburgh Penguins Win Stanley Cup

Marc-Andre Fleury Comes up Big in Victory

Marc-Andre Fleury, the goaltender for the newly minted Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, may have the hardest job in the world.

He may not have the current pressures of one Timothy Geithner, nevertheless, he often finds himself in a no-win situation.

Let too many pucks passed and he's the goat, an overhyped sieve. Stand on his head, stopping every shot he faces, and watch the superstars in front of him like Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin receive the bulk of the credit.

Marc-Andre Fleury's struggles

Fleury began his professional career with the Pens when he was only 18 years old, making an immediate positive impact with the club, receiving rookie of the month honors in his very first month in the professional ranks. However, as the season progressed, cracks began to show in the young man's armor, and after struggling through December, Fleury was relegated to the minors by mid-season. For many, this would be enough of a psychological blow to all but ruin their career.

Fleury played his way back into the line-up the old fashioned way, being called up for a game here, a game there, but doing enough to impress the Penguin brass to eventually rejoin the club on a permanent basis. He hasn't relinquished the opportunity since.

Penguins Defeat Red Wings

As the NHL playoffs began this past April, the Penguins were considered a threat in the Eastern conference, but not because they had stellar goaltending. In the East, that honor is typically reserved for Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. But as teams began to fall by the wayside, Fleury and his teammates seemed to do just enough to eek by their opponents. By June they found themselves fighting for hockey's Holy Grail against the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings.

But then, with the Penguins falling behind 2-0, pundits, players and fans alike had unanimously called this series over. Detroit would win its third Stanley Cup in four years and the Red Wings could officially be called a dynasty, joining the ranks of the Montreal Canadians of the mid to late '50s, the New York Islanders of the late '70s-early '80s, and the Gretzky-led Oilers of the same decade.

The Penguins fought back valiantly at home to level the series at two games a piece, and a small sense of hope was restored: not that Pittsburgh could actually win, but that the Pens would at least make it a series. Game 5 was held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on June 6, and Marc-Andre Fleury's worst nightmare became a vivid reality. Fleury laid an egg, allowing 5 goals in a humiliating 0-5 loss to give the Red Wings the lead back in the series.

Fleury Dominant in Game 7 Win

Once again, word from the peanut gallery had it that Detroit would wrap up the series the very next game. But Marc-Andre Fleury had been through this before, and his mental toughness had been honed by a career of ups and downs. That toughness was echoed by his teammates and elevated the Penguins to win the final 2 games of the series, including a 2-1 victory in Game 7.

Champions have less to prove, call it a fringe benefit. No one has earned this quiet respite more than Marc-Andre Fleury, a man who puts his reputation on the line every time he steps on the ice. Enjoy it, for fans and experts have short memories. Next season is just a few short months away, and Fleury better hope he gets off to a good start, or he'll face the same questions that, for the time being, lay in quiet limbo, desperate to be asked again.