The penguins can’t be blamed for trying to generate hype for a Stanley Cup playoff that begins in August.
But they may regret having put Saturday’s live stream of scrimmage online.
Sidney Crosby left that game early. The NHL’s “don’t ask why we won’t say it” mandatory injury policy had fans’ panties on a twist, and with good reason. Whether it is a bubonic plague, an amputation, or a nail, they are all “not fit to play.”
But when Matt Murray lit up like a Christmas tree, he created an even bigger point of discussion.
Murray allowed seven goals. He was hampered when facing the top two lines of the Penguins, centered by Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. He faced a planned power playtime within the context of practice play. The shots were not saved. There was very little contact. It only loosely resembled NHL hockey, let alone NHL playoff hockey.
Sam Lafferty dominated. There you go.
Still, seven goals are a lot to give up on a 50-minute scrimmage. Especially when Murray hasn’t shone at camp, and when his regular season numbers (.899 save percentage, 2.87 goals against average) were decidedly normal.
Murray has not been the same goalkeeper since 2017, when he stopped the Penguins in a second consecutive Stanley Cup and Marc-Andre Fleury left soon after.
Did Fleury’s presence push Murray? Did your performance sink because Fleury left?
It is impossible to be sure, and it doesn’t matter anyway. The long run is just a theoretical concern, because Murray will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and unrestricted after 2020-21. Murray is likely to be traded after these playoffs, because the Penguins will not pay him what he wants (rumored to be in the neighborhood of eight years at $ 8 million per).
For Murray and the penguins, it’s about the here and now.
Should I play Game 1 against Montreal on August 1? Probably.
But coach Mike Sullivan broke his bones during the 2016 playoffs when he decided (and decided again in ’17) that Fleury was no longer the type. Keeping up with the established Cup winner would have been easy to do, and few would have complained.
Now Sullivan faces a similar situation. You can start Murray in Game 1. But Murray’s leash must be as short as possible.
It is not about respect. It is not about then. It’s about now.
Losing seven goals during a scrimmage is no big deal. Having a bad patch during a July boot camp that feels surreal is no cause for outrage. Having lower stats over the course of the regular season is not cataclysmic. But all that adds up and cannot be ignored. Neither can Tristan Jarry’s increasing performance (although his load on Saturday’s scrimmage was much less demanding than Murray’s). Jarry did the NHL All-Star event.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins goalkeeper Tristan Jarry makes a stop during an intrasquad scrimmage on July 18, 2020 at PPG Paints Arena.
Murray pitched shutouts in the last two games of the Stanley Cup ’17 playoffs. But that was so much time ago.
Murray’s performance does not guarantee treating it with children’s gloves. He’s had hot streaks since ’17, of course. But any goalkeeper is capable of that. Penguins can’t wait for Murray to play well. You have to play well right away.
Murray will not face Crosby and Malkin on August 1. He will face the weakest team in the playoffs. Montreal scored 212 goals, just the 19th most in the NHL. Canadians are lucky if they have a striker who could break the top six of the penguins. Carey Price will be on the opposite web, but these days it has more to do with reputation than excellence.
It is a situation in which Murray should be successful. It must be successful and immediately. If you do, the strap should still be short.
If you don’t, remember that ’16 and ’17 were not just about Murray’s excellence. Those triumphs consisted of recognizing when goalkeeper number 2 was better than number 1. If the occasion dictates, Sullivan must show the same steel that he showed when making the change.
The situation now could unfold eerily similar to that of then.
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Columns by Mark Madden | Penguins / NHL | sports
