Where are Fleury haters hiding, what are their modivations?

By Jeff

The tricky thing about Pittsburgh Penguins fans who hate Marc-Andre Fleury is that they never really go away. They just find dark places to hide in when the goalie plays well.

Of course, these dark places have very easy to locate exits, as their occupants take to the streets very quickly if Fleury hits a rough patch. Maybe they are in abandoned fire stations or Leaps and Bounds, where fun exit slides and poles are in abundance.

If he wasn't so nice,
Fleury would tell haters to suck it.

No matter where these characters are, I hope they stay put.

Fleury was named the team's MVP this weekend and has the full support of his teammates coaches. Dan Bylsma didn't have to say Fleury deserved to be in consideration for the Hart Trophy this season, but he did just that after yesterday's shootout-win against the Florida Panthers.

While I think it's a bit much to name him the MVP of the league, Fleury should definitely be in the running for the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the league's top netminder. He is the main reason the Pens are fighting for the top seed in the East. Voters might shy away from him because he is apart of the Penguins, who were expected to do well this year, but they shouldn't.

Fleury started out the year rough, but he has stepped up in a big way when the team has needed him most. With Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each missing about half the season, and Brooks Orpik missing a month, and just about every center on the team going down at some point, Fleury has been their to answer the call.

Whether it's in regulation or the shootout, Fleury has kept the Pens in countless games that they would have lost if he wasn't their goalie.

Those Fleury haters not in hiding, (All three of them) will say that the great play of the defense is the reason for Fleury's improvement. While they are right, the defense is playing great in front of Fleury, it's a two-way street. For all the times the defense has helped Fleury out of tight jams, he has been there to bail them out as well.

Just look at what happened when the team's best defenseman and healthy leader, Orpik, went down for a month. The team is right where they were when he left because Fleury has played out of his mind more often than not. The team was right behind Philadelphia for the East, and that's where they are right now.

How many other goalies that lost their top sources for goal support and their top defenseman for long stretches of the season? And how many have thrived in that situation?

The answer is one, and his name is Fleury.

Take that, haters.

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