The fastest skater in the NHL had suddenly become its slowest.
The Penguins were up a goal and on a power play late in the second period of Wednesday’s 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers when Connor McDavid split their defense and had to be lassoed by Kris Letang.
The Penguins faithful lustily booed when the penalty shot was awarded. They did not stop as McDavid sized up Matt Murray then picked up the puck at center ice, beginning his slow descent toward the net. By the time he got there, it was surprising anyone’s vocal cords were still intact.
It took McDavid six seconds and 10 stick-handles to complete his circuitous route from center red, around the left faceoff dot outside the Pittsburgh blue line then all the way to the bottom of the right circle.
Murray has seen this approach before, along with its seemingly limitless possibilities, including during the quick video review the Penguins do before every game. He tried to tune everything out and stay in the moment.
Back in Pittsburgh after his 50 save game and @mattmurray_30 is continuing to impress. pic.twitter.com/Gi2xRMgHK6
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 14, 2019
“He’s really good at the move he did there, where he comes in on his forehand and drags it to the middle. He’s kind of carrying the puck behind him and can do pretty much anything from there,” he said. “I just tried to battle … and stay patient and let him make the first move.”
Murray did not commit, nor did he get lulled to sleep, when McDavid pulled the puck to his forehand between the hashmarks. With a second flick of the wrists, McDavid took aim at Murray’s supposed weak spot.
Murray was in tremendous position, so he didn’t need to move his glove much to flag down McDavid’s shot. But as Murray slid to his backside, he added a little something extra, letting everyone know he had it.
“He’s got a hundred different moves in his arsenal. He’s the best player in the world,” said Murray, adding – unconvincingly – that he “got lucky.”
Coach Mike Sullivan called the save “a game-changer.” Sidney Crosby said it was a “turning point,” preventing “a big shift in momentum.”
PPG Paints Arena went wild as Murray hopped to his skates, calmly handed the puck to the ref and gave his left post a quick tap with his stick.
“You want to be the guy who is making saves back there for your team. It feels good,” he said. “Then you just try to forget about it and move on.”
Here’s guessing that Murray didn’t forget about that one.
Still, to his point, there would be more pucks fired his way before the Penguins picked up two more critical points in the standings.
He strained to keep his left pad extended on another save on McDavid during the third. Later, he got a piece of Zack Kassian’s rising shot. He made a dozen saves in that period and finished the night with 38.
In his two starts since returning from an upper-body injury that kept him out of the starting lineup for six days, he stopped 88 of 90 shots, including a career-high 50 saves during Monday’s 4-1 win in Philadelphia.
Consistency has been an issue for Murray this season when healthy and in the lineup. But these last two wins serve as reminders of what he is capable of when at his peak, especially in the biggest of moments.
“He made some very timely saves,” Brian Dumoulin said. “He’s playing great right now. It’s fun to play in front of him. He’s such a competitor. We all believe in him, and he’s been playing great.”
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: February 14, 2019, 5:26 a.m.
