The Pittsburgh Penguins have a firm foundation to build upon with their two fierce and fearless goalies, Marc-Andre Fleury and Tomas Vokoun. Having a compressed season now in tow, the undeniably quick pace leaves little room for error in the net. Luckily, the Pens acquired Vokoun, a 36-year-old goaltender, last year from the Washington Capitals. The intention was to have a solid backup goalie behind embedded No. 29 to perform at the highest level with a steady hand and mental determination that would take the Pens through the post-season.
Vokoun, a 13-year NHL veteran goaltender, has started most of the 13 years and has posted a .923 save average in the past four years. He has also been named an NHL All-Star twice; once in 2004 and again in 2008. After the NHL lockout of the 2004-05, Vokoun took matter into his own hands and jump started his career with posting 36 shutouts, averaging 5.1 per season along with playing 401 games. Not too shabby for a backup netminder.
Fleury, the Penguins 28-year-old franchise goaltender is embracing Vokoun’s position and respects his experience and goaltending input.
“I think it’s great to have a guy like that who’s had a lot of experience and has been around for a long time,” Fleury said. “If we can talk about plays on the ice and goalie stuff, I think it’s always a good balance to help each other out.”
Vokoun, who is usually No. 29, but switched it around to No. 92, is definitely helping not only Fleury, but the Pittsburgh Penguins team as a whole. A reliable and stable backup goaltender is what the Pens needed. It brings a sense of relief and optimism to the entire team knowing that they have two capable and reliable goaltenders to help them win games.
“We’re teammates, we’re here to help each other and that’s basically the bottom line,” Vokoun said. “You work hard and play the best you can when you play, but we all have a common goal and that is to play winning hockey. So I’m here to support him and I’m sure he’s going to support me.”
Both goalies agree that their main objective is to win the Stanley Cup regardless of how many games each goalie plays. As of right now, Dan Bylsma has Fleury playing more games, (60-40 or a 55-45 split) however, with the shortened season, Vokoun will not be keeping the bench warm for too long.
“It’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh!” and Fleury will be your man behind the net tonight as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Photo Credits: Gene J. Puskar/AP
