Fleury's renaissance continues to be the playoffs' best story

It's a narrative few, if any, expected.

Marc-Andre Fleury backstopping the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Eastern Conference Final, that is.

But that's exactly what the goaltender has done, thanks to a Game 7 win over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday in which he recorded the ninth playoff shutout of his career.

In truth, Fleury wasn't supposed to add to his postseason numbers as a member of the Penguins, seeing as he had been relegated to the bench in favor of Matt Murray during last year's playoffs. The rookie supplanted the veteran after the latter fell prey to a late-season injury, and made good on the opportunity by leading the Penguins all the way to a Stanley Cup win.

The prevailing belief was Fleury would be moved last summer, but, to his credit, general manager Jim Rutherford held on, just in case. And so Fleury fell into the unfamiliar role of backup, yet without losing his trademark smile.

And as it happened, Murray himself suffered an injury prior to Game 1 of a first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets back in April, leaving head coach Mike Sullivan to hand the reins back to Fleury.

And through two series victories, Fleury - playing behind a Penguins blue line that's been decimated by injuries - has posted a record of 8-4 with a save percentage of .927, putting himself firmly in the Conn Smythe Trophy conversation as playoff MVP.

This postseason could very well be it for Fleury in Pittsburgh, with an expansion draft coming up and perhaps an ever-growing line of trade suitors based on his play over the past few weeks. Sullivan could even turn to a healthy-again Murray for the third round seeing as he's the de facto starter, but that seems unlikely at this point.

The reality is the Penguins weren't favored to topple the Capitals this time around, and Fleury is a huge reason why they came out on top once again.

No matter how many more times he puts on that jersey, he's certainly making the most of it, and earning a huge amount of respect as a result.