MVP MAF

Zach Boslett | Pittsburgh Penguins

Oct 18, 05:22 PM | Hype this story!

Marc-Andre Fleury has been the Penguins best player through their first eight games, and his 7-0 record is a testament to how well he and the Penguins are playing.

In a season where Crosby and Malkin are not playing as well as normal (for them), Fleury has been strong the entire season and his play is allowing the Penguins to win despite the struggles of the superstars.

Fleury’s numbers this season are very good: SV% of .922% (7th in NHL), GAA of 2.10 (5th), and 7 wins (1st). But he has been playing even better than his numbers have indicated. He is seeing shots through screens, reading plays, and challenging shooters way out on his crease.

The usual suspects for the Vezina are struggling mightily this year. Luongo, Nabokov, Backstrom, Kiprusoff, and Brodeur have all started off slow, and while it is still early, so have their teams.

The early Vezina candidates would be Fleury, Cam Ward, the surprising Craig Anderson, Henrik Lundqvist, Ilya Bryzgalov, and Ryan Miller.

All of the teams that have started this season strong also have a red hot goalie.

A good example of Fleury’s red hot ability to read plays is in the following video in which he robs Prospal of a go ahead goal in the season opener against the Rangers:

If Fleury can continue to play like he is and Malkin and Crosby can start their assault on the scoring title, this team will be nigh unbeatable.

Comments

  1. DaBich

    Oct 19, 06:41 AM

    I can’t believe how well MAF is playing. I know he won’t be perfect and can’t win every game, but I sure hope this keeps up most of the time!

  2. Shlim

    Oct 19, 09:12 AM

    It’s because we still cheer for him after he let in soff goals last year.

    50 WIN YEAR FOR FLEURY!

  3. TIM

    Oct 19, 12:11 PM

    Zach I agree he is playing at a very high level, and has been since the end of last season. He won the cup, and has all that pressure off him. Now he can focus on being one of the best goalies in the game.

  4. Zach Boslett

    Oct 19, 12:15 PM

    Too bad Carey Price can’t adopt Fleury’s new “hakuna matata” attitude. He’s been terrible as well

  5. Nate

    Oct 19, 06:53 PM

    @shlim,
    it’s because we still cheer for him even though sometimes he says bad words.

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