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| Its Fleury job to win or lose By The Hack The Pens are getting closer to the point of no return with its current lineup. They have recalled 4 players from the minors, put 4 veterans on waivers, and now questions have been raised about how long Coach Eddie Olczyk will be around to juggle this underachieving line-up. GM Craig Patrick has been waiting for Goaltender Jocelyn Thibault to play himself into shape and the patience has worn thin. Thibault commented about how he was used to playing a defensive style in Chicago and in effect, saying the Penguins don't fit his game. That wrote him a ticket to the waiver wire as fast as his inconsistent play. Enter Marc-Andre Fleury. This time for good. He will be given this oppurtunity to show his stuff. In his first two games he has showed his hugh upside with some youthful mistakes. This is what the Pens must live with. If backup Sebastien Caron cannot fill in the gaps the Pens might have to look elsewhere. PG Columnist Bob Smizik brought up the idea of firing Edzo. A sensitive subject. He is friends with Mario Lemieux and the Penguin organization. If he goes, it will be because this team did not work hard enough for him and he couldn't figure out the solution to its many ills. The players and the coaches need to look in the mirror. The teams' talent was never in question. Now it is! When you watch a game the only talent that jumps out at you belongs to Sidney Crosby and Ziggy Palffy. LeClair, Lemieux and Malone are not the pre-lockout players they were thought to be. Sergei Gonchar, an annual slow starter, has been dreadful at times. He is not giving the organization what it expected. These guys have been outworked. Inconsistent effort night in and night out. Very few games with 60 minutes of skill and desire. Is it as baffling as the team is making it? Some teams start slow and make adjustments . The Pens must do this in the next month. The schedule for the next five games will be revealing. It starts against a good Calgary Flames team on Saturday the 3rd. Then they play four more Western conference teams,Minnesota,Colorado, Detroit and St.Louis. Only the Blues have a bad record. This will show if the hockey club has it together. If not, Christmas time in the Pens locker room will not be very festive. |