Fleury's fight to stay sharp off to a fine start

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The only thing harder than starting only two of the Penguins' previous eight games, Marc-Andre Fleury would attest, was being back in his crease Saturday night and still not seeing many pucks.

"You're out there, and you're waiting, you're kind of lonely," he'd tell me afterward. "And then ... boom!"

Yeah, the boom came. And Fleury was more than up to it.



He stopped 26 of the Sabres' 27 shots in regulation, then all six in a spectacular overtime ...

https://vimeo.com/192305393

... only to fall a save shy in the shootout for a 2-1 loss at KeyBank Center.

The outcome was a stinker against one of the NHL's longstanding bottom feeders, but the Penguins' 46-shot output and tremendous territorial edge came with two intangible pluses:

1. They largely played well.

2. Fleury had to be that much sharper, not even counting his relative layoff since Matt Murray returned to health.

"I thought we had long stretches where we controlled the play," Mike Sullivan said. "But that can present a challenge for our goaltender, as well, because we're going to need him to make a timely save for us. And I thought he did that. I thought he was really good in the overtime. I thought he had a solid night."

Don't forget that, in this unprecedented season for Fleury to share starting duties, that's going to be a big variable. He rode an excellent roll earlier this season, but now he'll be tested with the odd layoff, then the odd dormant period, then basically what transpired here.

"It's definitely different than what I've been used to," Fleury said. "It's a different way to go into games. But that's the way it is. I've got to find ways to be ready, to be sharp, help my team win games."

I asked him if that sharpness mounted over the course of the evening, having noticed him getting extra animated after regulation:

https://vimeo.com/192299512

DK'S THREE THOUGHTS

1. What an awful game.

The Sabres have so little skill, even when they've got the currently injured Jack Eichel, and are so sloppy in all phases that it drags down the whole process. That's not an excuse for the Penguins leaving behind a point. And that's not just aesthetics. At every level of the sport, a bad opponent will bring down the overall caliber of play.

So maybe that explains why Sullivan squared up on the positives of the Penguins' possession and shot production, even after I cracked the door for at least some small criticism:

https://vimeo.com/192299428

It's a fair point. In some ways, it takes more focus, more attention to detail to put max pressure on an opponent that's randomly bouncing all about the rink. The Penguins did that much, for sure.

"It's one of those games where you leave feeling like you deserved better," Sidney Crosby said.

2. What does Scott Wilson bring?

This is more of a sweeping rhetorical than any singular statement about this game, though Wilson again lagged behind the puck and the play all night long. He lacks NHL speed, his hands aren't anywhere near good enough to compensate, he falls a split-second shy of making potentially pivotal plays that others would make and, in the most tangible sense, he isn't generating enough: He's got two goals, two assists and 29 shots in 16 games — no goals in the past 10 games, no points in the past seven — and this despite some quality ice time that's included 35 shifts in the past two games, superstar linemates and even power-play duty.

I'm not being mean and, since he's 24, it would be nuts to rule out improvement. But I'm also not seeing what's there, nor any compelling reason why it should continue much longer.

3. How about 50 in 50, Sid?

Crosby's 12th goal in as many games played this season brought the Penguins a point in that it tied the score at 5:46 of the third period ...

https://vimeo.com/192297610

... and it brought another tie: He's now got as many goals as the league leader, Patrik Laine, and he's done that in eight fewer games than Winnipeg's wunderkind 18-year-old.

A 50-in-50 run?

That's borderline unthinkable in Gary Bettman's NHL, especially since Thanksgiving tends to be the point in the season that all those early-season eager whistles start collecting lint in referees' pockets. But with Crosby, ruling out anything usually is an error waiting to happen.

THE INJURY UPDATE

Patric Hornqvist (concussion) missed a second game but skated on his own Saturday, which Sullivan called 'progress.' He's being called day to day.