Pittsburgh Penguins Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury Impressing Doubters Against Columbus

Apr 16, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie

(29) makes a save against Columbus Blue Jackets center

(17) during the first period in game one of the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

If you are a Pittsburgh Penguins fan then you have to be worried about the way your team has played in the first two games against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

However, one thing you shouldn’t be worried about is goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

While giving up seven goals in two games is a number that Fleury isn’t happy with, there is no way anyone can attribute the 4-3 double-overtime loss in Game 2 to him. With as bad as the Penguins played and the scoring chances that they gave Columbus, it was amazing that the Penguins got to overtime instead of losing the game in regulation.

“He held us in there,” center Sidney Crosby told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review when asked about Fleury’s Game 2 outing. “It’s tough. You don’t want to hang him out to dry there. We made some big mistakes.”

Fleury has made 72 saves in the first two games. Of the seven goals that he has given up three have come during a Blue Jackets power play, while two more have come via Columbus shorthanded breakaways.  Let’s not forget the two outstanding saves that Fleury made before Matt Calvert, who was all by himself, was able to punch home a rebound for the game winner Saturday.

It is scary that the man with so many question marks entering the playoffs has been the most stable player for the Penguins. When are Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Chris Kunitz going to step up for this team and starting putting the puck in the net?