Marc-Andre Fleury Takes Home The Cup

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals would broil down to goaltending. Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins comes up huge in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs. There is no doubt that he is one huge reason for the Penguins to take home the cup. The performances that he was displaying was incredible. It didn't always seem like it to the media. Often they would speak about a bad game or a bad goal and not really give Marc-Andre Fleury any credit. If he had a good game, all the glory would go to Crosby and Malkin. If the team played bad, it seemed that the problem was the goalie.

Fleury is a well deserving goalie for the Stanley Cup. He has such a drive. Even down 2-0 in the series he had a positive attitude and he didn't quit like most goalies would do. He kept battling game in and game out for the whole playoffs. For such a young guy, I give him lots of credit. He has awesome mental toughness and is so fast which is one of his keys to success."I've played with him a long time, and he's developed as a goalie," Pittsburgh defenseman Rob Scuderi said. "But I think mentally he's gotten leaps and bounds better." Now from seeing Fleury in the playoffs for two years straight, its obvious that he is a great playoff goalie and plays calm under pressure.

Check out this video of Marc-Andre Fleury after winning the Stanley Cup: http://video.thehockeynews.com/mediadetail/1211363

Most Stanley Cups by One Goalie

Winning The Stanley Cup is a true sign of a great goaltender. To win the cup you need to be better than good, average just doesn’t cut it at such a high level. Most goalies in the N.H.L. have never even won the Stanley Cup before. That sure wasn’t the case for Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante who each won the Stanley Cup six times each, the most Stanley Cups a goalie has ever won in their entire career.

Jacques Plante was the first goalie in N.H.L. history to win the Cup six times. He won it in 1953, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960 playing for the Montreal Canadians. He played for the Canadians from 1953 to 1963 where he won all of his Cups. Five of his wins were consecutive. After playing in Montreal he got traded around to the New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Boston Bruins. Plante was the first goalie to wear a mask. Throughout his career he had an outstanding 2.34 goals-against average in 837 games and recorded 82 shutouts.

Ken Dryden was next in line for winning the Stanley Cup six times. He claimed the Cup in 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979. He won the Cup four consecutive times. Just like Jacques Plante, he won the Cup all six times with Montreal Canadians. Ken Dryden was drafted in 14th overall in 1964 to the Boston Bruins. Dryden refused to play for Boston so they traded him to Montreal in 1964. He made his first N.H.L. debut in 1971. Dryden recorded an outstanding 2.24 goals-against average in 397 N.H.L. games.

The Next closest goalie is Grant Fuhr with 5 Stanley Cups. Fuhr won the cup in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990 all for the Edmonton Oilers. Fuhr was drafted 8th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft but played for many other teams as well. In 1981 – 1991 he played for Edmonton Oilers. In 1991 -1993 he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 1992 – 1995 he played for Buffalo Sabres. In 1994 – 1995 he played for Los Angeles Kings. In 1995 – 1999 he played for St. Louis Blues and in 1999 – 2000 he played for Calgary flames.

Winning The Stanley Cup isn’t a very easy thing to do, that’s why it’s such a great accomplishment for Jacques Plante, and Ken Dryden, to win the Cup six times and Grant Fuhr to win the Cup five times.