This Flower Has Officially Bloomed!

I'm still working on getting this blog "up and running" the way I want to, but there is no way I could not comment on the legendary performance MAF put on in Detroit last night. If there was any doubt before, Marc-Andre Fleury has officially arrived as an elite NHL goalie. The Legend of MAF has started to form, and what better stage for the opening chapter than a must-win Game 5 in the Stanley Cup Finals.

People everywhere are heaping praise on The Flower and going on and on about how this was the best game of his life. I'm going to take that one step further... this was the best goaltending performance in Pittsburgh Penguins history! There is not even any doubt in my mind about that when you consider how MAF played and the magnitude of the game. The only games I can think of that I would even put in the discussion would be Tom Barrasso's 1-0 shutout in Game 3 of the Finals against Chicago and Ken Wregget's performance in the 4 OT classic against the Capitals. MAF was a stud all game long and then took his game to a whole new level to stop all 24 shots that Detroit threw at him in overtime. MAF was on the biggest stage a person in his profession can be on, and he delivered in the biggest way possible.

Here is what some of Fleury's teammates and coaches had to say:

"It's the greatest game I've ever seen him play."
-Max Talbot

"He was outstanding tonight, he was outstanding in overtime and while both goalies played well, it was probably his most important win in his career."
-Michel Therrien

"He was awesome. He was the MVP of the game, he made huge saves in the end, in the middle - everywhere."
-Rob Scuderi

"If it wasn't for him, there's no way we'd have gotten to the point we're at now. He's carried us through the latter part of the season and the playoffs."
-Ryan Whitney

And finally, I'll just leave you with this: