Penguins shutout the Lightning, 3-0 !

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has a history of bouncing back remarkably following tough outings.

On Wednesday night, Fleury was pulled in the first minute of the second period after misplaying a puck behind the net and surrendering his third goal against to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Two days later against Tampa Bay, Fleury continued his trend of rebounding. He made 21 saves to record his 26th career shutout and third this season in a 3-0 Pittsburgh blanking of the Lightning Friday night at Tampa Bay Times Forum.

“You can’t really blame (Fleury) for Wednesday; we didn’t help him much,” Sidney Crosby said. “I’m sure he wanted to come in and bounce back. His record is really good after he’s been yanked. It shows what kind of player he is and his mental strength. He was our best player and a big reason why we won tonight.”

Fleury, who turned 29 years old yesterday, was particularly strong in the second period. He made a brilliant stop, getting his paddle down, on Nikita Kucherov on a breakaway after the Russian forward split the Penguins defense.

Fleury also got a toe on a shot from Alex Killorn and stoned J.T. Brown from the slot. Fleury made his most clutch stop on Richard Panik, who was alone in the slot, right as the second period buzzer sounded to end the frame.

“I just go one shot at a time and don’t think too far ahead,” Fleury said. “Sometimes you play well and they don’t get too much, and then they get a bad (goal). So I just try to be ready for it and go from there.”

Fleury also has a history of missing shutouts by one goal. However, he was able to secure the goose egg against the Lightning.

“I’ve had a lot of (one-goal games),” Fleury said. “It was nice.” >> Continue Reading <<

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