Artem Anisimov #42 of the Columbus Blue Jackets takes a shot in front of Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Five of the First Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on April 26, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH – It started, unprompted from any message on the Jumbotron. Slowly, the chants rose to a crescendo. It wasn’t quite as loud as the cannon that roared before Games 3 and 4 in Columbus, but given the circumstance and who it was for, it was perhaps even more impressive.
Before regular anthem singer Jeff Jimerson even had a chance to belt out the first note, Penguins fans began with a “FLEURY! FLEURY!” chant. As the final seconds ticked off of Saturday’s 3-1 win over Game 5 against Columbus, the chant erupted again.
It’s not the first time Pittsburgh’s fans have had the back of Marc-Andre Fleury after a rough performance, but the Penguins hope it will be the last time it’s required.
“It’s a good boost of confidence, got a little goose bumps going there,” Fleury said. “It was definitely a great feeling, very happy with getting a win here at home tonight.”
Talent has never been a question with Fleury, the easygoing French-Canadian who is easy to root for. His athleticism and side-to-side movement in net are as good as any in the NHL. Confidence and focus have infamously been, at least in recent postseason flameouts, Fleury’s undoing.
Fairly, and all-too-often unknowingly, many attach a stigma to psychology. That's true perhaps nowhere more so than in professional sports, where athletes are expected to be as strong of mind as they are of body.
In the field of play, or in this case, ice, the image of a star player talking out problems on a couch is unthinkable to some, especially in the hockey world where scars and missing teeth are worn as badges of honor.
After last season’s disappointing playoff performance -- yet another in a long line that doesn’t need to be recanted here -- the Penguins’ franchise goaltender worked last summer with a sports psychologist to train his focus and regain his confidence. Though Fleury was outstanding this season and was the Penguins’ best player in the first four games of this tougher-than-expected series against Columbus, that all came unraveled in the final 23 seconds of Game 4 and overtime on Wednesday.
If Saturday was the first true test of the mentally sharper Fleury, he passed. After making 23 saves on 24 shots, Fleury was named the game’s No. 2 star, but the fact is that the 29-year-old was solid, nothing more. Not one save stands out, but it’s a solid start on the road to redemption.
Not that his teammates had any doubts.
“He, obviously, had a bounce-back game for us tonight,” said defenseman Paul Martin. “He played great. Chanting his name before the game was big for him. I think he knows everyone in the room has complete trust in him, and he played great again tonight.”
It helped greatly that the Penguins were able to, unlike Game 4, shut down Columbus completely over the final 40 minutes. Although he allowed Boone Jenner to score after failing to cover up a loose puck in the first period, the Penguins did a much better job taking away the scoring areas from the Blue Jackets.
“I thought we they did a great job, battling to get that second goal,” Fleury said. “We kept going at them. It was good. I thought we played a good game for 60 minutes.”
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