Penguins coach Mike Sullivan raised two banners thanks to his ability to keep his finger on the pulse of his goaltenders and pull the right strings — and the goalie — at the right moment.
Now, if the Penguins are going to drink from the Stanley Cup for the third time in five years, Sullivan will once again have to make some tough goaltending decisions.
OK. Get to the point, right? Who is starting Game 1?
Matt Murray.
“We believe we have two great goalies,” Sullivan said. “Both of these guys are going to give us a chance to win.”
With two Stanley Cups on his resume, Murray has accomplished more before the age of 26 than some do in their entire careers. The Penguins know when the lights are the brightest, Murray isn’t the type of person to let the pressure get to him. History says that it’s actually the opposite.
“Matt has obviously shown an ability to be at his best when the stakes are high,” Sullivan said. “That certainly should provide some confidence for him going into a playoff environment like this.”
But the only reason this is even a discussion right now is that Murray’s stats haven’t been the same since Marc-Andre Fleury left. This year, he posted a career low in save percentage (.899) and had his second-lowest goals-against average (2.87) despite the fact that he may have been playing behind the best defensive team since he came to Pittsburgh as a 21-year-old in 2015-16.
Meanwhile, Jarry may have been the club’s best player through November and December. At one point, he led the NHL in goals-against average and save percentage on the way to earning his first career All-Star nod.
Among goalies with at least 25 games played this year, Jarry ranks seventh in save percentage (.921) and eighth in goals-against average (2.43). Since January, however, Jarry came back to Earth and Murray steadied his play. In 2020, Jarry posted a 7-7-1 record with a .901 save percentage. Murray went 9-5-1 with a .905 save percentage over the same stretch.
“We’ll take each game as it comes,” Sullivan said. “But we feel good about the goaltending tandem that we have.”
Mike DeFabo: mdefabo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mikedefabo
First Published: August 1, 2020, 4:52 p.m.
