Focus on Pens’ Fleury in Game 6
WASHINGTON — Three goals in five minutes sparked sing-song chants of “FLEU-RY! FLEU-RY!” and might’ve planted enough of a seed of belief for the Washington Capitals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
All series the Capitals had struggled to beat goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, but he allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Penguins' Game 5 loss Saturday night in probably his worst performance of the playoffs.
Pittsburgh still leads the series 3-2 going home for Game 6 tonight, so the pressure remains on Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington, but finally cracking Fleury could make all the difference.
“Some of the things that we're trying to do are starting to have an effect,” coach Barry Trotz said on a conference call Sunday. “It doesn't hurt the psyche, that's for sure, because I think it takes a little frustration out of your game if you finally crack through a little bit.
“We were sort of stuck in that two- and three-goal area and in a very important moment in the third period obviously in an important game, our guys delivered against him, so I think that gives us a boost of confidence.”
Fleury had stopped 133 of 142 shots through four games, making a mockery out of the core fundamental of hockey that having the puck more and putting it on net leads to success. He was the much hotter goaltender than reigning Vezina Trophy winner and again finalist Braden Holtby, who outdueled him in an emotional Game 5 as the Capitals avoided elimination.
“We're still down,” captain Alex Ovechkin said. “We take good moments of the game and move forward.”
The best moments were the times they got the puck past Fleury, the 2009 Stanley Cup winner who was Matt Murray's backup on the Penguins' title run a year ago and is only starting because of the 23-year-old's injury. If Fleury has sprung a leak, the Capitals have the talent from Ovechkin down to make him pay.
“He's been standing on his head this whole series,” said Capitals winger Andre Burakovsky, who scored his first goal of the playoffs Saturday. “We've been outchancing them almost every game and he's been saving them. So he can't do that this whole series. If we keep just pounding pucks he's going to get tired.”