Stats Don't Lie, Fleury's The Guy
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Mar 19, 08:17 AM | Hype this story!
Last night may have been the performance that makes coach Michel Therrien’s goaltending decision much easier.
On 30 shots, Conklin stopped 25 of them for an unflattering .500 goals-against average and .833 save percentage.
“He didn’t look sharp,” Therrien said after the game. “This time of year your goalie has to be sharp if you want to win.”
The fact is, Conklin hasn’t been sharp in quite some time.
In five starts since Marc-Andre-Fleury’s return last month, Conklin’s numbers have been bad, to put it mildly.
And, a comparison of the statistics will show that, in the same time, Fleury has been quite good, even while shaking off the rust that built up during a three-month injury layoff.
| Goalie | GS | Record | GA | Sv% | GAA | SO |
| Conklin | 5 | 1-4-0 | 17 | .866 | 3.40 | 0 |
| Fleury | 5 | 4-1-0 | 8 | .947 | 1.60 | 1 |
But it hasn’t just been the satistics.
After a tremendous start to his Penguin career, Conklin has made numerous gaffes while controlling the puck behind the net. Several have led to goals, while one last night nearly did.
As the Penguins head down the stretch and try to play themselves into first place in the conference, over-exuberance and careless/dangerous mistakes cannot be tolerated.
Conklin is fighting the puck and, consequently, is shaky, at best.
Fleury, meanwhile, has been steady in all of his starts. His puckhandling has improved (though slightly) and his rebound control is becoming much better (though still not where it should be).
Quite simply, he has played himself into the starting role.
As I mentioned above, at this point in the season, it’s about winning games, and the Penguins can ill-afford to wait for Conklin to return to the form that led him to be the hottest goalie in the NHL during the month of February.
At the present time, Fleury gives the Penguins the best chance to win and, therefore, is the starter. If he falters, Conklin will get another shot, but, until then, Conklin should and will ride the pine.
Comments
DaBich
Mar 19, 08:21 AM
Good call. And I heartily agree. Conks looked horrible last night, and has been shaky for some time.
I only hope Fleury steps his game up, and works on the rebound control.
Matt Bodenschatz
Mar 19, 08:50 AM
Well, to take this a bit further — accoridng to some contributors over at LGP — Conklin hasn’t been other-worldly since his initial 11 games when he went 10-0-1. Look at this: 20 GP, 18 GS, 8-7-4, 2.90 GAA, .908 SV%. By no means are those bad numbers, but they also don’t put him above criticism.
As for Fleury, I think it’s clear he has stepped up his game since returning. He’s given up the following goals in each of his starts: 1,2,3,0,2. Quite good, if you ask me. And, while his rebound control isn’t great, it hasn’t been problematic — unlike Conklin’s misplaying of the puck.
Mike Wilson
Mar 19, 09:00 AM
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…there’s a reason why Ty Conklin has been around the league so much.
He plays solid when needed, but is not a starting goaltender (unless it’s minor leagues), then he gets moved away because he can be good trading bait or just gets a better offer from another team.
Besides, we already signed a starting goalie in Fleury.
I agree entirely with the title: Fleury’s the guy.
Michael
Mar 19, 11:33 AM
I’ll admit that Conklin has not been sharp lately.
And I think this is understandable. He was due to cool-off a bit after the amazing__long stretch__of games in which he SAVED THE SEASON for the Penguins. A let-down was almost unavoidable in this situation.
He not only saved the season for the team, he also raised his game to a new career-level. That was a__long__stretch of games. Now that he’s had a few not-so-good games, lately, the blind Fleury-lovers are attacking.
I’ll make a prediction here. I predict that Fleury will do well__until__the playoffs .. and that he’ll have__HIS__let-down IN the playoffs! Fleury has never played well in any playoffs at any level.
And I don’t think that’s going to change.
And I also predict that if Conklin plays in the playoffs .. that Conklin’s let-down will be__history__by then, and that Ty will be stellar in the playoffs.
Let’s see what happens.
Matt Bodenschatz
Mar 19, 12:07 PM
Michael, the stats don’t lie. Conklin has hopped from team to team for a reason…and it wasn’t because he was a spectacular goalie. To expect him to become an All Star overnight at age 31. That sort of thing just doesn’t happen.
The fact is, the Penguins can’t afford to let Conklin play his way out of his funk. They need to gain momentum heading into the playoffs, not lose it. Fleury cleary has been the go-to guy since late February when he returned from injury.
It’s funny you call anyone who likes Fleury a “blind Fleury-lover,” despite the fact that the majority of Fleury fans also have given Conklin a ton of credit. He DID save the season and he DID play extremely well. But he’s fallen off. If anyone here is a “blind lover,” it’s you with Conklin.
Again, I’ll point out that, since his initial stretch where he went 10-0-1, Conklin stats are as follows: 20 GP, 18 GS, 8-7-4, 2.90 GAA, .908 SV%. By no means are those bad numbers, but their nothing to elevate his status to that of a god.
Your prediction very well may be right, and your statement about Fleury faltering in the playoffs is true — though he certainly didn’t look bad last year. But I’m curious as to what Conklin has done in the playoffs to garner such unbridled support.
highly doubt it will be the case.
DaBich
Mar 19, 01:41 PM
Blind Fleury lovers…isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black?
Ashley Gallant
Mar 19, 04:35 PM
At least Fleury has played in more NHL playoff games than Conklin. Conklin’s only showing in the postseason was those few minutes in game 1 of the 2005-06 Finals. Yep…not a good debut.
Fleury looked a little nervous for the first few minutes in game 1 last year, but he settled down and played really well the rest of the way. He should be fine this year.
Conklin had an amazing stretch of games earlier this season, which was great, but to me he has definitely lost the number 1 job to Fleury. Sure, he could get hot again, but I think he’s going to settle into the role of a backup to Fleury, which I don’t think is a bad thing.
Jesse Marshall
Mar 20, 10:25 AM
Don’t let Michael lie to you, MAF was named to the all-tournament team in the WJC and allowed 1 bad goal that was knocked in by a teammate.
His #‘s in Cape Breton were better than any goaltender in the Q.
He is the sole reason the Penguins won game 2 of the series against Ottawa, turning aside everything in the final two minutes as the defense stood around with its hands tied.
Michael, you simply have an agenda. Against both Fleury and Therrien.
DaBich
Mar 21, 10:07 AM
The gauntlet is down…
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