Blue Line
Still In Bloom: Marc-Andre Fleury
By Bob Grove

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's uneven performance over the first two months of the season was reflected both in his poor numbers and the fact backup Dany Sabourin - who wasn't signed to split duties with Fleury - had played in 10 of the Penguins' first 22 games.

But Gilles Meloche, the man trying to straighten out the timeline that leads from Fleury to his vast potential, isn't panicked in the least about the development of the first player chosen in the 2003 Entry Draft.

"He's still young. He's 23 years old and he's been in the league a couple of years, but he's still young," says Meloche, Pittsburgh's goaltending coach. "I remember for me the game started slowing down when I was about 26, 27 years old. The more you play, the more confidence you get, the game slows down in front of you. The game is still quick in front of him."

Meloche, 57, who has been working with Penguins goaltenders for most of the past 18 years, certainly has the perspective and experience to guide Fleury. Like Fleury, he is a Quebec native who played junior hockey in his native province and was flung into the NHL at an early age.

Drafted by Chicago in 1970, when the minimum age for draft choices was 20, Meloche was the California Golden Seals' No. 1 goaltender at the age of 21 and led the NHL in games played (59) and minutes played (3,473) at 22. By his 23rd birthday, Meloche had already played 117 games - 38 fewer than Fleury had to his credit when he turned 23 last month.

Meloche had also lost more games than he'd won at that point in his career - just like Fleury - so he could compare notes on the mental aspects of the game as well as the technical.

"You've got to be positive," says Meloche. "As soon as you start doubting yourself, you're done. You can't start thinking. That's why, every day, it's really important to just get the basics. Everything's got to come automatically. And you have to learn something every day.

"Early in the season, Marc-Andre was trying to overplay everything, trying to go at the puck instead of letting the puck come to him. So we've been working on positioning the last few weeks."

Fleury, yanked in the first period of a game in Ottawa Nov. 22 only to register his ninth career shutout two nights later against Atlanta, ranked last in goals-against average (3.24) among goaltenders with at least 11 games played after 23 games. He was 31st in the league in save percentage (.898).

But he had Meloche to lean on.

"We've been practicing a lot of rebound control, and he's helped me a lot with that," says Fleury. "He's played many years in the NHL, so he knows what's going on. I like the way I have somebody I can talk to about goalie stuff. He's a coach, you know, but for me he's more like a middle guy, somebody I can always talk to. And he's calm."