The Penguins start with Marc-Andre Fleury in net. Now, I've never been sold on Fleury as an NHL goalie. Ever since he banked that puck off the American forward at the World Junior tournament a few years ago, costing Canada the game, I thought that Fleury would be an average NHL goalie, at best.
So far he's proven me wrong, except for him falling out of the gate of Game One of last year's Stanley Cup Finals. That fall was very average—only a four in my books.
The fact, is though, confidence or not, Fleury is still one of the most flexible, acrobatic goalies in the NHL today. He has a quick glove hand, and the same unpredictability that made Dominik Hasek famous.
Health is his big concern this season.
In 2006-07, when Fleury was healthy, he posted a 40-win season, although his goals-against average and save percentage (2.82 and .906) were a little out of whack for a starter in the NHL.
In 35 games last season, Fleury went 19-10 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average. However, that's just 35 games—thanks to an injured ankle.
If it weren't for Ty Conklin's revitalization in net—and Evgeni Malkin stepping it up in the points department—the Penguins could have fallen heavily last season.
If Fleury goes down this season, the Penguins—already sporting a banged-up defense—could be in real trouble.
Dany Sabourin is their only insurance if Fleury goes down this season, which is risky business—especially when you look at the trouble he had last year.
Throughout Fleury's injury period (December 8 to February 9—the time frame he was off the roster) Sabourin was 4-4 and allowed 23 goals over that period. Sabourin has also gone a while without seeing any regular-season action, as his last game was February 21 for the Penguins.
Also, outside of Fleury's injury period, Sabourin has allowed four or more goals six times, and three goals seven times.
If Fleury gets injured or Sabourin struggles in backup duty, the Penguins could be eyeing the market for a second backup goalie.
Gonchar are two of their best...I hate Whitney'ing stuff like this
Early on, the Pittsburgh Penguins have taken some shots to their defense.
Gone are Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, with shoulder and foot surgeries respectively.
Gonchar’s injury immediately cripples the power play, removing a 60-point producer from the back end, as well as a defenseman who works extremely hard at moving the puck up ice and generating offense out of his own zone.
In losing Whitney, the Pens lose a defenseman on the rise who was really coming into his own offensively last season, and was even starting to develop his defensive tools.
Although losing both is a terrible setback early on to this team, it may also help the development of some of the younger defensemen.
Alex Goligoski is the type of player who can step into that offensive role and thrive. Because of some size issues, there have been questions about whether or not he’ll get dominated at the NHL level—but if Goligoski can perform well in the increased ice time, then the power play won’t miss too much of a step.
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