Penguins rightfully so have no imminent plans to extend Marc Andre Fleury

Marc Andre Fleury, as expected, will enter the season without a new extension. “I’m not in a hurry to do a contract with him,” Penguins GM Jim Rutherford told the Tribune-Review Monday. Rutherford did note he see’s Fleury as having the ability to remain the Penguins long-term goaltender but the buzz surrounding Fleury within the first couple weeks of Rutherford being at the helm has always been that he would take a wait and see approach with Fleury and it’s the right move. This media narrative that Fleury’s play was any different in 2013-2014 than previous years continues to not add up. He finished the season with a .915 save percentage, which is average for goaltenders, and right around where

Marc Andre Fleury 15-20-4 in career vs NJD

Marc Andre Fleury enters the season with a tremendous amount of pressure and he eyes career win No. 250 tonight vs the New Jersey Devils. Fleury who is 1-2 in his last three home openers, is 15-20-4 in his career vs the New Jersey Devils with a 2.57 GAA. Fleury is 7-10 vs the Devils over his last 17 starts against New Jersey. Fleury was excellent at home last season going 14-3-0 with a 2.11 GAA and .922 save percentage.

If the Penguins have to go searching for a No. 1 goaltender this winter, look for Simon Despres to be the trade bait

LATEST RUMBLINGS The Penguins get criticized for not embracing a youth movement and some wonder if they will ever embrace one, and actually open up spots in the coming years for their young core blueliners. Will the team really not resign Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen and so on? That’s a story for another day. Word out of the organization, though, is they envision Derrick Pouliot, Olli Maatta and Scott Harrington all being in the NHL around the same time (Maatta, Harrington closer than Pouliot) and being a huge part in the Penguins top-6 for years to come. There’s no sense the organization feels the same way about Simon Despres and I’m hearing some question whether Despres ceiling is anything more

Morning Pens Buzz: Penguins should go back to Tomas Vokoun in Game 3

MORNING PENS BUZZ Heading into Game 3 the goaltending situation is far down the list of worries for the Pittsburgh Penguins and that’s not a good thing. The Penguins have a number of issues and are truly a mess right now being outscored 9-1 in the series. None are bigger than the fact that Pittsburgh’s star players have been absolute duds in the series and a lack of defensive structure and players unable to make basic defensive assignments on the backcheck have been at the forefront of the Penguins issues. With how bad the likes of Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby have played, maybe the only way is up for the Penguins as the play from Letang, Crosby, and others

Game 5 Buzz: Reactions, Analysis to Penguins Goaltending Situation; On Lack of Adjustments & Lineup Buzz

GAME 5 BUZZ (1) Tonight we learn a lot about this Penguins team. “We’re preparing for best of three,” head coach Dan Bylsma said. Over in the West, what you see from a top Cup contender in the Chicago Blackhawks, No. 1 seed, is that they have a killer instinct and know how to put away an inferior team. Leading 2-1 in the series, they didn’t give the Minnesota Wild any breathing room in Game 4, and took command of their series with a 3-0 shutout win in Game 4 on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 series lead. By contrast the Penguins are regressing in this series after a dominating Game 1 performance. “This can be great for us,”

Post-Game Buzz: Fleury, Jokinen deliver 2-1 shootout win over Rangers

POST-GAME BUZZ Jussi Jokinen (7) scored in regulation and delivered the game deciding goal in the shootout as the Pittsburgh Penguins (29-10-0, 58 pts) earned a 2-1 shootout win over the New York Rangers (18-15-4, 40 pts) on Friday night at the Consol Energy Center. Marc Andre Fleury was a perfect 3-for-3 in the shootout as the Penguins snapped a two game losing streak. In a game that had a playoff feel about it, Fleury put on a clinic tonight as he treated fans to some of the best goaltending your going to see. Fleury carried a shutout late into the third period until Rick Nash scored off a lost Brandon Sutter faceoff with 4:49 left in the third period

Pittsburgh 3 – New York 0: Post-Game Thoughts (10) on the suddenly defensive sound Penguins

POST-GAME BUZZ Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves, breaking the franchise career shutout record with 23, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins (21-8-0, 42 pts)  to a 3-0 shutout win over the New York Rangers (13-12-2, 28 pts) on Saturday afternoon for their eighth straight victory. Fleury who surpassed Tom Barrasso on the career shutout list, wasn’t tested early as the Rangers had just 4 shots on goal in the first period, but made the stops he needed to make as the Penguins once again played well in front of him. “I was looking forward to getting it finally,” Fleury said of the shutout. Fleury is 13-3-0 in his last 16 games. “Thought our guys did a great job {defensively},” Fleury said. “Everybody

Penguins – Leafs Game Day Buzz: Fleury vs Scrivens; Despres expected back in lineup

Penguins (19-8-0, 38 pts) @ Leafs (15-11-1, 31 pts) The Penguins and Leafs faceoff for the second time in five days and third time this season. Both teams teams have split the two meetings and combined for 16 goals. Expect another exciting brand of hockey tonight. As we near the 30 game mark, the Penguins are in great position and appear ticketed for the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, barring an unforeseen collapse. The Penguins hold a comfortable seven point lead over the New Jersey Devils (13-9-5, 31 pts) in the Atlantic Division and 10 point lead over the preseason favorites New York Rangers (13-10-2, 28 pts) who have two games in hand. The Penguins,