from Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

Marc-Andre Fleury savored the sweat that ran down his face after Wednesday night's 3-2 win over Washington in Game 4 at PPG Paints Arena.

This time a season ago, his brow remained pretty dry as he watched Matt Murray propel the Penguins' Stanley Cup run. He became available in Game 3 of 2016's second-round series against the Capitals only to watch Murray put together a 47-save effort. Hopes of reclaiming the starting job looked pretty bleak after that.

At no point in this series or the previous one did Fleury present these playoffs as a redemption tour. His performance refuses to go by any other name, though. He finished with 36 saves in Game 4. He matched or exceeded 30 saves for the eighth time since the start of the playoffs.

Murray needed to stop 30-plus pucks just six times all of last postseason. But that was when the Penguins dictated terms with possession. Fleury has shined for a very different version of the team, one that arguably is far more reliant on the performance of its goaltender.

And that's still just fine by Fleury.

“I don't mind it,” he said. “I just go out and try to stop the next one. Sometimes I like to see more shots than others. I like the action. I like to contribute.

“I thought our guys did a good job of blocking them and letting me see the puck.”

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