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.

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New year, same story.

After entering the playoffs with the top record in the NHL during the regular season, the Washington Capitals have been eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

For the Capitals, they are left wondering why. As for the internet, it appears to be having a field day with yet another head-scratcher of a postseason by the Presidents' Trophy winners.

Here is some of the best Twitter had to offer Wednesday night:

The hockey gods are can indeed be cruel, as they look to have bestowed a plague upon the Capitals.

But there's always next year.

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You can't make this stuff up about the Anaheim Ducks.

The club is looking to avoid a remarkable fifth straight Game 7 loss on home ice in as many years, but the Ducks are following an inauspicious script after Drake Caggiula opened the scoring for the Edmonton Oilers with an ugly goal:

How ugly? This ugly:

The Ducks never make it easy on themselves.

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This is a recording.

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 2-0 in Game 7 of their second-round series Wednesday night. The defending champs are moving on, while another Presidents' Trophy-winning season for the Capitals is over at the hands of the Pens. Even worse: It's the third time in the Alex Ovechkin era that Washington's been eliminated by Pittsburgh.

Ovechkin, somehow, remains without a postseason game played in the third round or later on his remarkable resume.

This series loss is especially crippling for Washington because the team was so very much all-in this season, with T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, Karl Alzner, and rental Kevin Shattenkirk all slated for unrestricted free agency on July 1. Add in the fact that Washington tied up the series after falling behind 3-1 and, well, this one's going to hurt for a long, long time in the District.

Marc-Andre Fleury was stellar for the Penguins, stopping all 29 shots he faced. Thrown into the crease before Game 1 of the first round, Fleury's made the most of his opportunity, and after backing up Matt Murray all season, he's now led the Pens into the Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators.

Bryan Rust and Patric Hornqvist scored for Pittsburgh. It was Rust's eighth goal in elimination/close-out games.

Braden Holtby did what he could for the Capitals, making a number of stellar stops in the third period to keep Washington within striking distance.

Pittsburgh, however, was especially dominant in the third period, keeping on the attack and giving the Capitals no room and no chance to mount a comeback. The shots in the final 20 minutes were 11-6 in favor of Pittsburgh.

The Penguins are now an insane 6-0 all time in Game 7s on the road. The Capitals never had a chance.

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Is it too late to add Jake Guentzel to the Calder Trophy ballot?

With an assist on Bryan Rust's Game 7 opening tally, Guentzel set a new Pittsburgh Penguins rookie record for points in a single postseason with 14.

Related - Watch: Penguins' Rust opens Game 7 scoring after patient Guentzel feed

Guentzel's 14th point puts him one past Jaromir Jagr who posted 13 during the 1990-91 season. However, Guentzel achieved his feat in just 12 games, while Jagr did so over 24.

Including the playoffs and regular season, Guentzel has now posted 47 points in 52 games.

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Marc-Andre Fleury is having a time.

The Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender was perfect through two periods against the Washington Capitals, and after making an incredible save on an Alex Ovechkin one-timer with the shaft of his goal stick, Fleury showed his stick, some, uh, love.

Here's a better look at the save:

And the, uh, celebration:

Ovechkin thought he'd scored. Check out the smile Fleury was wearing after the save:

The Fleury story is one of the best of the playoffs, and it will get even better if the Penguins win Game 7.

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The Washington Capitals have Mr. Game 7 in Justin Williams.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have Mr. Elimination Game in Bryan Rust.

Advantage: Penguins. So far, at least.

Rust opened the scoring in Game 7 in the second period after a Matt Niskanen turnover and a brilliant pass from Jake Guentzel.

The goal is Rust's eighth in 12 career elimination/close-out games and third in two Game 7s. This is his second career postseason. He is ridiculous.

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Ben Bishop appears quite happy about the idea of playing for the Dallas Stars.

The veteran goalie's rights were acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, and while Bishop can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, he's hopeful a contract can be agreed upon to keep him in Texas.

"I don't want to get ahead of myself, because I know we have the negotiating process to go through, but I'm excited," Bishop said, per Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. "I know the area down there, I graduated from Frisco High School (north of the city), and I know how passionate the fans are there. I was just really excited to hear (about the trade)."

Bishop knows new head coach Ken Hitchcock from his time with the St. Louis Blues, and also sees familiar potential in the Stars.

"I think we have a good relationship, and I know his teams in St. Louis were tough to play against," Bishop said.

"Like I said, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but this looks a lot like the team we had in Tampa when I first got there. There is plenty of firepower to score goals, and the opportunity is there to work on the other areas and improve those areas."

Bishop, 30, is coming off a two-year deal signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning that carried a salary cap hit of $5.95 million.

The two-time Vezina Trophy finalist likely won't come cheap, but he could be just what the Stars need to get back to the ranks of Stanley Cup hopefuls.

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Canada defenseman Tyson Barrie will miss the remainder of the World Hockey Championship due to a lower-body injury, the team announced Wednesday.

The news is a huge blow to Canada, as through three games, the Colorado Avalanche defender is tied for second in tournament scoring and leads all defensemen with seven points.

It's a rather untimely injury for Barrie, but luckily for the Canadians, St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko should help soften the blow. It was announced Tuesday that the sophomore would join Canada, and he should make his first appearance Thursday against host France.

Canada is perfect through three games at the tournament and is tied for top spot in Group B with Switzerland.

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On to the next.

Now that new Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake has taken care of a big piece of business by signing forward Tanner Pearson to a four-year, $15-million contract extension, he'll now look to get a deal done with another key restricted free agent, namely Tyler Toffoli.

To that end, talks between the two sides are set to begin soon, agent Pat Brisson said Wednesday on SiriusXM's NHL Network.

"I think (Tyler) is a core player on the Kings," Brisson said, according to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. "He's a top-six forward, so we'll be talking here shortly. His deal is up (and we'll talk about) what we could potentially do."

Brisson also explained why Toffoli, who scored 31 goals in 2015-16, saw his numbers dip to 16 goals and 34 points in limited time this past season.

"Tyler this year played on one leg. He was hurt," Brisson said. "He missed 21 games, and I would say, honestly, I think he played probably another 20 on one leg, so, yeah, he had a little drop in his production as well as other players on the team, but he's a true offensive threat out there. He's a 25-to-35 goal-scorer and still young, so he's in a great position."

Toffoli signed a two-year, $6.5-million deal with the Kings in 2015. In 293 regular-season games with the Kings, he's registered 84 goals and 91 assists, and he was also a key contributor to Los Angeles' 2014 Stanley Cup win.

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