Admit it. You Fleury bashers out there were all shaking your heads when just 2:41 into the game last night against Atlanta Brent Sopel (1) tipped in a shot to put Atlanta up 1-0. It is ok, you can admit that your heart sank because you believe so little in the man that lead the Penguins to two Stanley Cup Finals and one Stanley Cup in the past three years. The rest of us know that you have no faith in Marc-Andre Fleury so it is not like it is a big secret or anything.

But even you Fleury haters have to admit that it was the goal tending that prevented it from getting much worse until the Penguins got their game going. Sure it wasn’t until half way through the second period that Evgeni Malkin (5) scored to tie up the game after a legitimate goal for the Penguins had been waved off for goal tender interference, but after that it was all Penguins. Sidney Crosby (12) tipped in a Deryk Engelland shot from the point early in the third to put the Pens up 2-1. Then Evgeni Malkin (6) scored again on the power play to make it 3-1. Malkin took a rebound off the end board and tucked it behind Pavelek who was leaning the other way looking for the puck to come out to his left.

Niclas Bergfors (5) scored for the Thrashers to cut the game to 3 to 2 but the Penguins buckled down, Fleury made the saves and Malkin (7) got the hat trick on the empty netter to ice the game with 1:02 remaining.

It is not often you will ever see Marc-Andre Fleury play in back to back games especially with the usually capable Brent Johnson backing him up. But apparently Johnson’s third period collapse against Boston (partially due to poor defense in front of him but not completely) along with Fleury’s stunning play the previous night against Tampa Bay earned the Penguins number one goal tender a chance to prove that his performance was not a fluke.

And boy did he ever prove it. Fleury made a plethora of nifty saves with every part of his equipment and body stopping 31 of 33 shots. If you thought that the only reason Fleury looked good against Tampa Bay was the limited number of shot he saw, the Atlanta game puts that theory to rest. Two solid performances in a row is a good start on the road to recovery for the star net minder of the Penguins. But he still must do more and prove his consistency is back.

The win moves Pittsburgh to 9-8-1 on the season and they return home on Monday to host the New York Rangers (8-7-1). Whether or not Fleury will start his third game in a row remains to be seen. But so far it looks like he has earned that opportunity.

It wasn’t the Stanley Cup Finals but the Penguins and Red Wings engaged in a classic battle that was entertaining if not nail biting. Both teams staked out there game plans and each countered the others best laid plans. For the Penguins it was find Wings netminder Jimmy Howard and throw frozen rubber at him early and often. For the Red Wings, depleted by injuries all season, it was weather the storm and be opportunistic.

There was no doubt that Howard kept the Wings in the game. He faced a withering assault and assortment of scoring attempts of all types from slap shots to wristers to banging in garbage from the doorstep and stopped all but one of the 47 shots he faced in regulation and overtime. That one that he missed was on a Sidney Crosby (34) backhand late in the first. However with the help of some posts and what as at times utter chaos in the Detroit zone that was all the Penguins could muster.

The Red Wings however hung in there and after managing just 11 shots through the first two periods came to life for about five minutes in the third and scored the game tying goal midway through. That is the way the game ended after sixty minutes and despite having to kill a penalty in overtime, the Penguins and Wings moved on to the shootout.

Fleury had already been strong all game long, although he too had a couple fortunate bounces save his bacon, despite nursing a still broken finger on his glove hand stood tall in the one on one session forcing Pavel Datsyuk to miss the net on his shot and making a save on Jason Williams.

In the end it was the dynamic duo for the Penguins that made sure the game went on no longer once Fleury stood tall between the pipes. Kris Letang could not beat Williams but Crosby and Malkin both scored on their chances and it was Malkin’s shot, a soft push into the net after Williams was down and out that brought the crowd at the Igloo to its feet as the final score officially read 2-1 Penguins.

The win was important for the Penguins who are sitting in fourth place in the East and being challenged by surging Ottawa (31-21-4, 66 pts), who just beat the Penguins at the Igloo on Thursday night. The win against the Wings gives the Penguins (34-21-1, 69 pts) a three point lead over the Senators and keeps them just three points behind the New Jersey Devils (35-17-2, 72 pts) who are leading the Atlantic Division but also have two games in hand over Pittsburgh.

Tonight the Penguins though have to turn around again and do it all over as the Buffalo Sabres come into town. Buffalo is leading their division and third in the east at 32-14-7 and 71 points.

I have not decided what to say following Game 6 and heading into Game 7. I guess I am still, nearly 24 hours after the fact, on an adrenaline high from watching the spectacle from my seats in D7. So until I decide what to say, just enjoy the highlights …

Say what you want, and having myself read the commentary out of the Detroit papers and Red Wings blogs do vehemently disagree, the Red Wings appear to be out of gas. That does not mean that at some point they will not make a pit stop and refuel. But for now the defending Stanley Cup Champions look tired and defeated.

I sit in D7, four sections up and to the left side of the Pens bench if you are looking at it from the ice. Even from my perch I could see Detroit’s players gasping for air and slumped on the visitor’s bench as the game wore on. When his Sidness teamed up with MVP (Geno Malkin) to put the Penguins ahead 3-2 you could see it from the International Space Station if that damnable roof on the Mellon Arena still opened. Any time you can see the full numbers on the back of a player’s sweater you know they are leaning forward looking for something that they might not have.

Here is the scary thing though. Datsyuk is still not playing. Is he ready? If he is, he is well rested. My sources say he was ready, but only about 80%, for Game 4. This is why the Detroit coaching staff was not quite ready to play him. So he sat. The Wings lost. Now, with Game 5 looming what happens? Does a ready and well rested Datsyuk play and add fresh legs to spark the team out of the Motor City? Does a hobbled Datsyuk get thrown in to the fray by a Detroit team looking for anything at all? And if so does will he be a non-factor or a hindrance? Or will he sit again, still not ready for the ice?

Here’s another scary thing. Detroit played well in the first period at times dominating the play. They also scored quickly in the second to take a lead. But this is the second game in a row where around the halfway point of the second period the Red Wings looked obviously tired. Still, if they can keep getting the lead on the Penguins, is Osgood able to steal a game the Pens should by all rights win?

And yet another scary thing. Sure, the series is now a best of three but it is a best of three with two in Detroit and those darn boards that can score on visiting goalies by themselves without much help. Ask Marc-Andre Fleury about that.

And how about this for just one more scary thing? If the Penguins cannot pull out a win on Saturday night at the Joe, they will be down 3-2 and facing elimination, again, in Game 6 on home ice giving Detroit another chance to hoist the cup in front of really depressed Penguins fans.

Come Saturday night, the Penguins need to dig down deep, find that extra gear, put some extra gas in their own tanks and crash, bang and boom the Red Wings all over the ice; all while staying out of the box. Fleury will need to play a near flawless game to beat Detroit on their home ice and in their own barn.

Do that, and they will have a chance to do something Pittsburgh fans have never seen done – have the home team hoist the Stanley Cup on Igloo ice.