Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury Finding Redemption after Slow Start

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury saw better days after the stunning Game 7 loss against the Montreal Canadiens in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, an upsetting cap on an overall mediocre season.

Fleury seemed to pick up where he left off at the start of the next season. Very average play, paired up with poor confidence levels and an inability to keep the Pens in a game.

Questions arose concerning his capabilities of playing at the high caliber the organization expected. Some felt it would be best for the Pens to trade Fleury for a more elite netminder while others wanted to see backup Brent Johnson take over starter duties.

The last few weeks, Fleury has completely demolished any doubts about his talent and worth to the Pens.

Starting the season with a goals against average over three and a save percentage under .900, Fleury has shut the door on the opposition with a 2.29 GAA and .920 SV%. His SV% is the second highest of his career while his GAA is the lowest of his career.

For a 26-year-old goalie who has consistently improved each season, this is a good sign, especially coming off a poor start that yielded embarrassingly low statistics.

Fleury has had an interesting and slightly shaky start in in the NHL, but he solidified his name as a consistently competitive and reliable goalie after anchoring the Pens to the 2009 Stanley Cup. People began associating his name with "clutch."

However, the following season that saw the Pens lose in the semifinals of the playoffs was nothing better than a mediocre season for Fleury and the rest of the team save for captain Sidney Crosby who took home his first Rocket Richard Trophy.

GM Ray Shero gave Fleury some help by signing defensive defensemen Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek to five-year deals.

After losing both Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi, the defense was severely weakened and easily contributed to the Pens' poor season.

Expectations were high for Fleury to bounce back, but the start of the2010-2011 season wasn't the best for the Pens and Fleury. His confidence seemed low which became a huge contribution for his discomfort in the net.

Opposing teams got in the habit of netting their first shots against Fleury. Putting the Pens in a hole before a game is a minute old is a good way to kill their dump-and-chase game while killing their spirits.

This became a bigger problem when the rest of the Pens played with the same uneasiness Fleury did. It was as if they weren't comfortable with him being in net, though none of the players came out and said it.

Crosby, on the other hand, did speak in defense of Fleury even when head coach Dan Bylsma pushed the idea of starting Johnson more. Crosby felt Fleury needed to play more games to get back into his groove.

In a separate interview, Crosby mentioned an interesting tidbit he shared with Fleury: you can't lose years of skill in a few games.

Sure enough, after the Crosby/Bylsma disagreement, Fleury wouldn't lose a game in regulation for an entire month. He began playing full 60-minute games and held the fort when the Pens had one-goal leads late in the third.

Most importantly, he was confident again and the rest of the team followed suit. The questions about Fleury's abilities and the desire to trade him for another goalie immediately silenced.

Even after the end of the 12-game winning streak, Fleury has maintained his strong play and continues to be a force between the pipes who never gives up on a puck.

In fact, he's easily playing the best hockey in his career.

Fleury doesn't have the best technique and he certainly isn't the best goalie in the NHL. I would even argue that he isn't elite.

But the bottom line is despite his flaws, Fleury knows how to win hockey games. There are times when that isn't going to happen, but that's a part of hockey and Fleury's growth as a goalie. Fleury hasn't even reached his prime yet and is still, for the most part, a young goalie.

What's important is that Fleury's downsides always have an upside which shows his dedication to improving.

That, fellow Pens fans, is a good sign and a good reason to not panic and keep the faith in the Flower.

Laura Falcon is a Featured Columnist for the Pittsburgh Penguins.     Follow her on Twitter or email her at [e-mail] with any comments or questions.