Penguin fans have gotten used to poor goaltending performances when it counted the most. It's etched in their history.

From Tom Barrasso collapsing against the New York Islanders in 1993 to Marc-Andre Fleury in recent years, the Pittsburgh faithful have seen their fair share of goaltending gaffes.  So when Fleury seemingly whiffed on a puck shot around the boards in the last minute in Game 4 and it ended up in the Penguin net, the collective groan of Pittsburgh fans could be heard as far away as Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

That miscue tied the game for the Columbus Blue Jackets and sent Game 4 of the Columbus-Pittsburgh series into overtime. To compound the Penguins misery, the overtime winner...scored from well out...seemed to be a shot that Fleury should have had.

Let's not throw Fleury under the zamboni just yet. Upon further review, the puck rimmed around the boards in the last minute took a crazy hop over Fleury's stick. It was a bounce that no one could have seen coming. One can make the argument that Fleury should have stayed in his net, but this is a play that happens dozens of times a game. It was routine. It took a strange bounce. If one watches the replay, the puck never hit Fleury at all. It wasn't as if Fleury passed it straight up the middle to Brandon Dubinsky.

This is what makes the Stanley Cup playoffs a one of a kind tournament. Call it fate, call it karma, whatever your beliefs are...circumstances can be cruel to the most talented players. Long-time Penguin fans can remember the agony of Mario Lemieux's back issues in 1993 that caused him to play at less than 40% against the Islanders. Of all the times for his back issues to flare up that badly, that would have been the worst. The playoffs are full of frozen-in-time mistakes. One only has to recall Steve Smith banking the puck off his own goalie in 1986 to effectively end the Edmonton Oilers' search for three Cups in a row. Steve Smith bounced back. And so will Fleury.

The overtime winner that Fleury allowed looked soft at first glance. But upon further review, it shows the puck was on edge when Nick Foligno took the shot. The puck dropped two feet on its way to the net. Unless you've been a goalie, it's impossible to explain the effect such a drop has on both the goalie's concentration and reaction. Yes, the shot should have been saved...it's what playoff calibre goalies do. However, the fact that the Penguins were up 3-0 in the game and blew it should be a bigger concern.

Out of four goals, two were on Fleury's shoulders. But Pittsburgh has yet to see Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby tally for them in this series. They have gone missing in action. No team that is deemed a contender for the Stanley Cup should allow 40+ shots a game and blow a 3-0 lead.

These are not your previous Fleury meltdowns. The Blue Jackets are not missing the net and seeing the puck carom in off a part of Fleury's body. These are unfortunate bounces on a goalie that fans seem all too willing to blame, even when it's not warranted. Unfortunately for Fleury, a goalie is only remembered for the saves they didn't make. However unfair that may be, Fleury's critics seem to be hanging over him like the Sword of Damocles, ready to strike him down at any perceived miscues.

The reputation is not undeserved. Fleury has collapsed in the past. He's only led the Penguins to one playoff series victory since 2009 after winning seven of eight in 2008 and 2009. But this is not the typical Fleury meltdown.

Fleury is the only reason this series isn't over. His defense has been abysmal. The Columbus Blue Jackets have outplayed the Penguins in virtually every aspect of the game. Had Pittsburgh played up to its team potential, the talk would be about Pittsburgh wrapping this series up on Saturday. If there are questions about why this series is tied at two games apiece, direct those questions to Crosby and Malkin. If they stay missing for much longer, their faces will end up on milk cartons with a "Have you seen..." caption in Pittsburgh. It was the Penguins as a whole, not Fleury alone, that wasted his sparkling 42 save performance.

Yes, Fleury shoulders some blame for how Game 4 ended. Unlike past playoff failures, however...the bulk of the blame cannot be laid at his feet. With a 3-0 lead in the game, he never should have been in the situation to begin with.

The blame for this potential disaster that was Game 4 needs to be laid at the collective feet of the entire Pittsburgh roster.