Vegas’ Fleury back to being great playoff goalie

Anyone who has played with Marc-Andre Fleury can tell he’s dialed in by watching his mannerisms.

Last year, he rubbed the shaft of his stick after making a save with it on Alex Ovechkin.

This year, he continued a career-long tradition of rubbing the post as a sign of appreciation for keeping a puck out.

“That’s when you know he’s in the zone,” Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maatta said.

Fleury is in one of the best zones of his career in the playoffs with the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who have followed up a magical inaugural season with a trip to the Western Conference final. The goaltending of Fleury is the biggest reason they’ve gotten this far and is a continuation of his remarkable playoff reputation rehabilitation.

After taking the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008 and winning it in 2009, Fleury lost four of the next five series he played and each postseason had a save percentage under .900.

He has gotten his groove back, helping the Penguins win the Cup a year ago, and now leads the NHL playoffs with a 1.53 goalsagainst average, .951 save percentage and four shutouts.

“I don’t think it was anything physically that he changed,” former Penguins teammate and current Capitals defender Brooks Orpik said. “It was all confidencedriven. He’s always been a guy who’s really competitive and really loose at the same time. I think it was just confidence. I think he needed a fresh start. Maybe he just needed a clean slate, and you perform better when you’re more appreciated.”

It’s impossible not to appreciate the impact “Flower” has made in the desert as the face of a new franchise as he went 2913-4 with a 2.24 GAA and .927 save percentage for Pacific Division-winning Vegas. The fresh start might have rejuvenated Fleury more than a decade into his career, but his bounce-back in becoming a great playoff goalie again is six years in the making.

The low point came in 2012. Fleury allowed 26 goals over six games to Philadelphia in a firstround exit. The next playoffs, backup Tomas Vokoun started more games, and it was fair to wonder if Fleury had lost it.

“You learn from losing,” Fleury said. “You learn from tough times and pressure and stuff like that. It made me a better goalie from it.”

Following a forgettable first-round loss to the Rangers in 2015, Fleury had one of his best regular seasons. But he was nevertheless replaced as Pittsburgh’s playoff starter by Matt Murray on the way to the Cup in 2016.