Darth Vitale
Dark Matter
I appreciate that he has only kicked 1 or 2 pucks into his net so far and only flopped 3 or 4 times.
His Simplified Game Has Made Me a Believar! ™
His Simplified Game Has Made Me a Believar! ™
Fleury Appreciation Thread
- Thread starter AquaticBirdman
- Start date
Jaded-Fan
Registered User
As it was brought up earlier in (I think this) the thread, I definately think that our playoff avatars have to include:
If this playoffs is not all about Disco, I do not know what is.
If this playoffs is not all about Disco, I do not know what is.
To get over that mental hump, he needs to win a playoff series. Even Kennedy etc. said them as a team felt like that was a mental hurdle they had to get over last year. They got over it, but Fleury still needs to.
I do think that Montreal Series really rattled him. It was the next season that he came out of the gates horribly getting replaced by Brent Johnson, pulled it back together. But then the loss to TB in the playoffs and blowing the 3-1 lead (again) in the series, and of course the Philly series. He needs to get that series win and hopefully he can relax a bit.
Finesse
nostromo
- Dec 9, 2013
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Certainly, but the series loss to Tampa Bay was without Crosby, Malkin, Cooke and Kunitz. Add to that mix a James Neal and Alexei Kovalev who had no idea where they were. Not exactly a prime situation for the team in general.
Honour Over Glory
Fire Sully
- Jan 30, 2012
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It's sad that people still can't give him credit for being solid this year and potentially being a candidate for the Olympics. Out of him, Price, Luongo, and Smith, he's won the cup and been to the finals twice. Yeah the last 4yrs sucked, but he's been solid this year.
Til the End of Time
Registered User
Honour Over Glory
Fire Sully
- Jan 30, 2012
- 77,316
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Coming from the most positive person in our Pens forum, I will take your word for it.
Thanks.
wgknestrick
Registered User
- Aug 14, 2012
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Yeah, I remember when MAF alone took this team to the cup. If only he didn't have to carry those 2 players who scored 30+ points in a single playoff year to get there.
Do we even need to show you his playoff stats/SV% again?I thought we had hammered this nonsense out of most of the brains here, but I guess there is still work to do. STOP POINTING TO TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PROOF THAT MAF IS GOOD.
Craig Adams won 2 stanley cups. Does that make him better than the Sedins who have won zero combined? We don't want MAF to fail, but please call it like it is.
He's been average so far this year, no real difference from his career averages of being an average NHL starter. We have already pointed to the low level areas that are still weaknesses in his game that have remained unaddressed. There is no statistical data that proves he is significantly different from his career averages aside from him stopping an unsustainable amount of PK shots so far.
I would still take him as my goalie in the shootout, or to play on a PK, but overall, he is still an average goaltender despite these bright spots, that happens to play behind an elite team. IF he was getting a much (.75-1%) higher 5v5 SV%, then I would be on your side.
If he played behind FLA or BUF, you would see his true colors, and I'd think he would have a hard time staying in the league (as a starter) if that were the case. I don't think anyone here has a problem with how he's played so far, but we all doubt his playoff reliability and know that any weakness will be exploited in the playoffs.
When the Pens are playing an equal team (skater-wise), goaltending is a major deciding factor. There aren't many elite teams, where MAF is clearly the better goaltender between us and them.
Every single analyst i've heard say he's no where close to making the olympic team.
MrBurghundy
I may be older but I'm never forgetting #47 & #41
Like I said, he's solid most years... In the regular season. The ONLY worthwhile measuring stick for Fleury at this point is the playoffs. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HE DOES IN THE REGULAR SEASON MATTERS. His problems only come to light when the pressure is ratcheted up which you rarely ever see in a regular season game.
He may be awesome this postseason. I have no idea. I really hope he is. Its 100% justified at this point in time though to not trust him and his regular season success.
radapex
Registered User
Actually, several him sitting at #4 or #5 right now behind Price (14-9-2, 2.08 GAA, .934 SV%), Luongo (14-8-5, 2.28 GAA, .918 SV%), Smith (13-6-5, 3.01 GAA, .911 SV%), and Crawford (17-6-3, 2.47 GAA, .907 SV%).
The fact that only one of those 4 have been statistically better than Fleury this season shows just how low his stock has fallen. And it's not like they're playing for poor teams - Chicago is #1 in the league, Vancouver #10, and Phoenix #12.
Hell, as of right now Fleury is T-1st in wins (16), 5th in GAA (2.01), and T-13th in SV% (.922). Also clocking in with at .922 are two goaltenders that are projected to be starters on their respective Olympic teams - Semyon Varlamov and Kari Lehtonen.
Shady Machine
Registered User
- Aug 6, 2010
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It's not sad at all (in the way that you mean). He did it to himself. He has been poor when it counted for 4 years. What evidence is there that he will be great when it counts in the Olympics? There's really no reason for him to make the Olympic team.
Shady Machine
Registered User
- Aug 6, 2010
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4 or 5 is "no where close to making the team" considering the lack of high end Canadian goaltenders at the moment.
radapex
Registered User
Everything I heard says that canadian brass want nothign to do with fleury as they cant trust him. Doesn't matter what the stats say.
If he's the 3rd goalie then it really doesnt matter cause he might get one game against peru... but he'll never play a meaningful game.
I don't hold MAF responsible for either the TB loss or the debacle against Philly 2 years ago. As someone already pointed out, the TB series was without Sid and Malkin, Neal couldn't score on a dead hooker, Staal was our #1 center. In the Philly series, the entire team played like they were in the special olympics. It wasn't just MAF. The Isles last year is a different story.
Le Magnifique 66
Let's Go Pens
Don't forget game 7 against the Habs were Fleury looked like a pee wee goalie, he was simply brutal in that game and never even gave us a chance to compete from the start
UnrealMachine
Registered User
That's not how Olympic goalies are selected. They'll pick a starter + backup and the 3rd spot will go to someone younger who they hope will be the starter or backup next Olympics. Fleury had that #3 spot last Olympics, but, unfortunately for him, has looked absolutely dreadful in every single playoff series since the last Olympics (including a poor job of being a backup in the Bruins series). Why would 2 months of regular season hockey change the perception of his last 4 years?
Wait, you don't think MAF is responsible for the Philly series? Sure, he wasn't the ONLY failure, but his failure was on a ****ing historic level.
Wait, you don't think MAF is responsible for the Philly series? Sure, he wasn't the ONLY failure, but his failure was on a ****ing historic level.
The whole team **** the bed. I'm not going to single one guy out for it.
My lasting memory of that game is Gonchar letting someone walk in off the left wing on a breakaway and blow one by MAF. He just didn't even try. Whose fault is that?
LetangInTheSO
Registered User
- Oct 17, 2008
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Where did you hear this? Not saying it isn't true (in fact I suspect it is true), just curious.
Le Magnifique 66
Let's Go Pens
Wait, you don't think MAF is responsible for the Philly series? Sure, he wasn't the ONLY failure, but his failure was on a ****ing historic level.
Some of the goals he let in that series were even worse then Game 4 last year in Long Island
Le Magnifique 66
Let's Go Pens
Well mine is the goal he let in I believe Gionta from the side boards with almost no angle. That was it from there
radapex
Registered User
If that's the case then what use would it be form them to take Mike Smith, who turns 32 in March, as the #3 guy? Even Crawford is only 33 days younger than Fleury.
For the first time in his career, Fleury has actually taken steps to try to correct some of his issues. He's made changes to his routines and rituals, he's taking practices more seriously, he's more than willing to try out suggestions made by Bales, and so on. You could argue that he was forced to see the sports psychologist, but he'd said "no" when Shero had previously asked him to do it - so if he didn't want to do it, he wouldn't have.
I find it hard to believe that it's entirely coincidental that all the changes occurring had nothing to do with his excellent play this season. The guy has established himself as a top 10 starter this season and is only a hot streak away from getting his name into Vezina talks.
