Busy morning on the All-Star goalie replacement front.
Shortly after the NHL announced Jaroslav Halak would fill in for the injured Jimmy Howard, it revealed that Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury would head to Columbus in place of Pekka Rinne, who’s sidelined with a knee sprain.
This will mark Fleury’s second All-Star Game appearance, and it is well deserved. The 30-year-old netminder has posted excellent statistics this season, ranking fourth in the NHL with 22 wins, sixth with a 2.16 goals-against average and seventh with a .926 save percentage. Fleury also leads the league in shutouts, with six.
So, to recap...your 2015 NHL All-Star Game goalies are now Fleury, Halak, Corey Crawford, Sergei Bobrovsky, Roberto Luongo and Carey Price.
Cue Washington fans expressing outrage that Braden Holtby wasn’t chosen as a replacement.