Marc-Andre Fleury deserves to play in the NHL All-Star Gam

Putting all that much thought into the NHL All-Star Game is a waste of time; fan voting, injuries, veterans who kinda-sorta ask for the weekend off and the "every team gets a representative" model should stop anyone from taking the selection proce s all that seriously. That said, the game is indeed happening (Jan. 25 in Columbus Jerami Grant Jersey ) and players will, in fact, be on the roster. Not Red Wings goalieJimmy Howard, though; he's expected to mi s 2-4 weeks with a slight groin tear, which means that the league will have to find someone to replace him. MORE: Howard (.920 save percentage, 2.11 goals-against average, 16-7-7,two shutouts)was one of the five goalies selected for the roster behind fan choice Corey Crawford.The others: Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus), Carey Price (Montreal), Pekka Rinne (Nashville) and Roberto Luongo (Florida). The guy that deserves to take Howard's place, strange as it sounds, is Marc-Andre Fleury. Coming into 2014-15, he'd e sentially mixedfive years of up-and-down,ultimately average-ish play with a few postseason meltdowns. The wisene s of the contract extension he received . That said, he's been legitimately good over the last three months; his .926 save percentage is eighth overall and fifth among starters, and he leads the league with six shutouts. Wins and goals-against average are more team-oriented than anything, but he's still fifth (16 wins) and sixth (2.16 GAA) in those categories. The proce s should come down to a coin flip between Fleury and Ottawa's Craig Anderson (.928 save percentage, 2.35 GAA), who has the distinct misfortuneof playing on a terrible team. Washington's Braden Holtby should be in the discu sion, too Pittsburgh, though, has managed to stay two points of first place in the Eastern Conference despite a brutal stretch of injuries and resultant dip in both even-strength and 5-on-4 production. At 5-on-5, Pittsburgh is 10th in goals for (2.45 per 60 minutes) and 11th in percentage of shot attempts (51.5). Part of the reason they've made up that gap is Fleury. Look at all the injuries we've had and the numbers he's still put up," . "He deserves more recognition. He does, actually. Even if it doesn't matter all that much. Isaiah Hartenstein Jersey