There's no surprise that the Pittsburgh Penguins rattled off a three-game winning streak last week.

However, it's quite a surprise that their goaltender wasn't Marc-Andre Fleury.

Fleury began this season 0-3 with a 3.41 goals-against average and an .853 save percentage — well below his career numbers, obviously.

Brent Johnson, a backup goalie in the NHL for the past seven years, is 4-0 with a 1.49 GAA and a .950 save percentage in 2010-11.

He also was the architect of this three-game winning streak, standing between the pipes for all three wins.

Johnson hasn't become the Penguins' starting goalie. Fleury will play 60-plus games, just as he has the past two seasons, barring injury.

Coach Dan Bylsma simply has been playing the hot hand. Nothing wrong with that.

This is professional sports, after all. It's a results business. It's all about what you've done for me lately.

At the same time, it's a gutsy move by Bylsma to jump-start a team that lost three of its first four games.

Fleury won a Stanley Cup for the Pens two short years ago, winning 16 of 24 games in the playoffs while sporting a save percentage well above .900.

The year the Pens lost to Detroit in the Stanley Cup Finals, Fleury had a 1.97 GAA and a .933 save percentage.

This guy is 25 years old and already has a proven track record. He was the first choice overall in the 2003 NHL draft.

Johnson, 33, is a fifth-round draft choice in 1995 who is now with his fourth NHL team.

Eventually, the Penguins will sink or swim with Fleury. That's OK. That's how it should be. He's the franchise goalie.

But just imagine ...

n Ben Roethlisberger throws five interceptions in consecutive losses. Do the Steelers sit him for a week and start Charlie Batch?

n Albert Pujols goes hitless in three straight games for the St. Louis Cardinals. Do they take him out of the lineup for a couple of games in a row?

n Kobe Bryant has three straight off nights shooting for the Los Angeles Lakers. Do they take him out of the starting lineup for the next game?

Even though all of the above scenarios would be temporary moves, the answer to all three questions would be no.

That's what makes Bylsma's move so unique. If Johnson struggles in those three games and the Pens lose, the coach would be roundly criticized for not playing his No. 1 guy.

But the move worked and Bylsma was applauded for it.

Perform or step aside. Interesting concept.

It's doubtful Aki Iwamura, Andy LaRoche, Jeff Clement or Charlie Morton would have been in the lineup for two months if Dan Bylsma was running the Pirates.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle