I can only imagine things are starting to get pretty tense around Olympic camp for all the team hopefuls. As Hooks pointed out in Wednesday's Olympics post, some guys are a lock, others still on the fringe. Marc-Andre Fleury isn't exactly a lock to make the team, but there's definitely more in his favor than against.
So it comes as no surprise that MAF finds himself on the receiving end of constant questions regarding his hopes of playing for Team Canada. In his latest Radio Canada blog post, Fleury discusses his Team Canada chances, the ridiculous streak of injuries that plagued Pittsburgh's defense and Sidney Crosby's offensive surge. As always, thanks to Pensburgh reader Becky for providing the translation. Her accuracy and speed of translation continues to amaze me.
Take the jump to catch up on MAF's latest.
The question of the day
Hello to all,
Each time I step foot in a new city, I answer the same question from journalists.
Do you believe in your chances to represent Canada in the Olympics? Yes, I believe in them, but the final answer does not belong to me.
If people are talking about me as a logical candidate for the team, it's a good sign. That means that I am still in the race.
The team's directors, starting with Steve Yzerman, will have some difficult decisions to make. Obviously, I would love to put on Canada's uniform in Vancouver, no matter what role they want me to play within the team.
I have already said, jokingly, that I would be willing to fold towels in the locker room in order to achieve that Olympic dream.
Still, I don't want to make myself crazy with this Olympic games business. You can't lose sleep over something that you can't control. The only thing I can do, from now until the final team selection, is to help the Penguins win as many games as possible.
The more games I win, the better my chances.
The Wilkes-Barre Penguins
The month of November was not a very restful one for the Penguins. At one point, five of our six starting defensemen were in the infirmary. Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, Brooks Orpik, and Jay McKee, one after the other, all went down in combat.
For a few games, Mark Eaton was the single survivor on the blue line. Honestly, I have never seen a situation like that. It was getting pretty ridiculous, because we were losing a new defenseman with each match.
Martin Skoula, who has held the position of seventh defenseman since the beginning of the season, played some incredible hockey during this difficult stretch. The Penguins also called up Ben Lovejoy, Deryk Engelland, and Nate Guenin from our farm-team in Wilkes-Barre.
The guys from Wilkes-Barre did a more than respectable job for our team. We were thus able to weather that storm without too many defeats. We finished the month of November with a record of 8-6. So that's not too bad...
For the last game, Gonchar, Letang, Orpik, and McKee were back in the lineup.
Crosby on fire
If I still do not know my fate as regards the Canadian Olympic team, Sidney Crosby is already sure of his place. In his last two games, Sid has exploded with 8 points, including 5 goals.
Watching him play in the last several games, I can confirm that he will be ready for the Olympic adventure!!!
I'll speak to you again after the holidays. I wish you, in advance, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2010.
À bientôt,
Marc-André Fleury