Fleury steadying influence for Penguins

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Marc-Andre Fleury tucked his hair behind his right ear and spent the next five minutes deflecting away praise much in the same way the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender effortlessly turned aside 1,685 shots during a season unlike any of his 11-year career.

His club-record and NHL-high 10 shutouts? The product of coach Mike Johnston’s more defensive-oriented system. The calmness he displayed so regularly even as the star-studded lineup in front of him muddled through maddening stretches of ineffective play?

That’s just the byproduct of a decade-plus in the league. The sense of security that comes from a four-year contract extension? That’s all on general manager Jim Rutherford.

“I just try to go out and do my job,” Fleury said. “I don’t like to make things too complicated.”

That’s all in the past for a player who has spent years toiling sometimes thanklessly in the shadows while superstar teammates Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin command the spotlight. Not this season.

Not with Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang sidelined at various times with injuries. Not with Crosby trying to create something resembling chemistry with constantly changing linemates.

Pittsburgh didn’t clinch a ninth straight playoff berth until the final day of the regular season, a fitting 2-0 win over Buffalo in which Fleury staved off a miserable collapse by stopping 28 shots.

A question mark as recently as two springs ago — when he briefly lost his starting job to Tomas Vokoun in the playoffs — Fleury is now one of the few constants on a roster that has spent the past five months in a perpetual state of flux.

He’s also Pittsburgh’s biggest asset as it tries to upset the New York Rangers in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

“Every game he’s played, he gave us a chance to win,” forward David Perron said.

Fleury’s 2.32 goals-against average marked a personal best and his .920 save percentage was just a tick off the .921 he posted while playing just 33 games during an injury-filled 2007-08 regular season.

Press Fleury on how he provided the steadying presence through a turbulent final months and he shrugs the shoulders that seem remarkably thin considering the burden he’s carried.

The 30-year-old looks uncomfortable using the word “I,” preferring to pepper his answers with more inclusive pronouns.

“I think it’s been a pretty good season,” he said. “At the end was little frustrating, a little tough. If you look at our entire season with the injuries and the 82 games, we did a good job.”