Sometimes, when a team isn't playing well, it needs its goaltender to steal a game. To step up in a game where his team is significantly outshot and just slam the door on the opposition. To give his team a victory when they need one more than anything.
And so it was last night in New Jersey, as Penguin goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury shut out the Devils, stopping all 37 shots they threw at him, and helping the Penguins to a 1-0 victory that pushed them ahead of the Devils in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division standings.
Ruslan Fedotenko scored the only marker for the Penguins in the 2nd period, completing a nice give-and-go with Evgeni Malkin who was kind enough to draw 3 Devils to him once he got the puck and leave Mr. Potato Head wide open in the slot.
Although the Penguins went 0-for-5 on the power play and were outshot 37-18, they didn't play poorly. Their offense was a bit sluggish for the second game in a row, but with the goaltending that Fleury provided them, they didn't need to light up the scoreboard.
Fleury was particularly good in the 3rd period, tossing aside shot after shot and looking like the goaltender who was on top of his game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year.
His best save of the night came in the 2nd period when he dove across the crease and spectacularly got the bottom of his glove on a shot from Devils forward Jamie Langenbrunner -- who surely had nightmares of Fleury after being stoned by him all night long. That sequence ended only when the resulting scramble around the net found the puck squirt behind Fleury and partly over the goalline before Penguins defenseman Mark Eaton swung his leg across the line and kicked the puck out.
The close play had to be reviewed, but the "no-goal" call was upheld.
Penguins coach Michel Therrein was more pleased with his team's performance last night, and he should be. Pittsburgh worked hard and earned the 2 points. They'll have to do the same tonight, when they play the 2nd end of a back-to-back, at home against the rested and waiting Montreal Canadiens at (7 PM EST) in a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast.
Can the Penguins win 2 in a row and start a min-run? We'll see.
Recap tomorrow ....
NOTES:
The Penguins sent down forwards Tim Wallace, Ryan Stone and Jeff Taffe before the Christmas break, and recalled forwards Paul Bissonette and Dustin Jeffrey yesterday. Both Bissonette adn Jeffrey were in the lineup. For Jeffrey, it was his first cup of coffee in the league. Jeffrey has been a great face-off man and penalty killer in Wilkes Barre, and the Penguins may be looking to get a little something from him like they usually get from center Mike Zigomanis, who's still on the shelf with an undisclosed injury. He didn't see the ice a lot last night, but didn't look out of place either.
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