ANALYSIS: Fleury Shines Again as Blackhawks Fall in OT

For the second time in a six-day span, the Blackhawks and the Bruins went toe-to-toe until the dying minutes of action -- last week in Boston with the Bruins finding the winner in the final seconds and on Tuesday night with the game needing overtime to find the victor, again with Boston finding the final goal.
Brandon Hagel scored the lone goal on the night for the home side, his 21st on the year and fourth in his last four games. But otherwise, the Blackhawks were "way too picky" in interim head coach Derek King's eyes with their own scoring chances, posting just 20 shots on goal and passing up the chance to shoot on several other prime looks, opting for a pass instead.
"We just couldn't get the inside on this team and we weren't willing to just throw pucks at this guy and hoping for rebounds or something," he said. "We were really picky on our shooting."

POSTGAME LINKS
GAMECENTER: CHI vs. BOS
RECAP: Blackhawks Fall to Bruins in Overtime, 2-1
RELEASE: Blackhawks Sign Vlasic to Entry-Level Deal
HIGHLIGHTS: Blackhawks vs. Briuns
GALLERY: Blackhawks vs. Briuns

FLEURY PHENOMENAL, AGAIN

One way or another, Marc-Andre Fleury's time in Chicago unfortunately could be in the final stretch. Simply put, he's a marvel to watch night in and night out. If Tuesday turns out to be one of Fleury's final games as a Blackhawk, fans at the United Center got quite the show against Boston.
Ahead of Monday's NHL trade deadline, the pending free agent is a highly-sought-after commodity for top teams. As Chicago heads into a rebuild under General Manager Kyle Davidson, having a 37-year-old future Hall of Famer in net more than likely doesn't fit within the plan past his current expiring contract. Fleury reportedly is in control of his own destiny over the next week -- whether he'd like to finish the remaining months of his deal in Chicago or be dealt to a potential Stanley Cup contender in search of a fourth ring.
"I'd be very surprised if he is around (after the deadline)," King said candidly, "because he can make a team that much better."

Fleury made an incredible run of 39 straight stops against the Bruins to start the game and 46 saves overall on the night in the overtime defeat -- one save shy of his career mark for a single game. He left the home crowd chanting "FLEU-RY, FLEU-RY" several times and received a standing ovation after one of his best stops on the night, stiffling Brad Marchand with a post-to-post save late in the second.
Only a Patrice Bergeron mid-air bat of a rebound at the edge of the crease was the only chance that eluded him in regulation. A Matt Grzelcyk wrister on a point-blank 2-on-1 was the difference in overtime. Neither chance would've yielded a different result from almost any other netminder in the league.
"He was outstanding, I don't know what else to say about this guy. When he's on like that, it's fun to watch," King said. "He made some spectacular saves."
"We can't ask much more of him," Hagel added. "Flower's been terrific all year. He's won us probably half our games. He's been the stud of this hockey team and wish we could've got two points for him there. He definitely deserved it."

Regardless of what the coming days bring, the Blackhawks are content no matter what the future Hall of Fame netminder decides is right for he and his family. Fleury a massive value to the team's next generation either way -- as a kickstart to the rebuild via potential picks or prospects in return, or as a continued influence on the young core inside the locker room that gets to learn from one of the game's all-time greats the rest of the way.
"If he's here on the last day of the season, I'm fine with that because we have a lot of young players who are learning a heck of a lot from someone that's one of the best people in the game and one of the best professionals in the game," Davidson told reporters earlier this month. "That has its own value, so if he sticks here, I'm fine with it."
"He's probably the best teammate I've had in my entire career of playing hockey," Hagel said. "One of the nicest guys and he brings 100% whether it's in practice, whether it's in the game. That's why he's going to be a Hall of Famer."