This is not a good season for the Pittsburgh Penguins. In most of the early games, even the losses, Marc-Andre Fleury bailed out the guys in front of him time and time again. He’s out of commission for 1-2 weeks with concussion symptoms and things aren’t going well in his absence.
That’s not to blame his replacements, Jeff Zatkoff and Matt Murray, entirely. I’m actually a big fan of Zatkoff – he’s an alumnus of my university and a generally great guy. Murray’s NHL debut against the Carolina Hurricanes wasn’t too shabby and he got his first NHL win last night against the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets.
But, par for the course, the defense outside of the blue paint is imploding, especially with Kris Letang‘s absence, and quite frankly, these two have nowhere near the NHL experience Fleury does to make up for that.
I miss “The Flower.” I miss him thanking the goalposts for helping him out on lucky saves. I miss him trying to pick fights with anyone who comes near his crease. I even miss his soul patch.
So without further ado, I present a playlist for everyone who misses our Quebecois netminder as much as I do: “An Ode to Marc-Andre Fleury.”
Next: Fleury Come Back