Penguins Playoff Update: Time to Switch Part II

Back in the day, before the evils of smoking were fully understood, a popular cigarette brand used to boast, “Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!”

Mind you, I’m not trying to start a battle among Penguins faithful. But I thought I’d revisit my “Murray or Fleury” query from May 18.

I’ll ask again. Should the Penguins switch goalies and go with Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 5?

Personally, I’m going to change my stance and say ‘yes.’

While you can hardly fault Matt Murray for the Pens’ Game 4 loss, there’s no denying his play has slipped a bit. Over his past six starts the kid’s posted a 2.99 goals against average and .892 save percentage, along with three wins and three losses.

In his first seven postseason starts? Murray recorded a sparkling 1.81 goals against average to go with a stunning .944 save percentage. Not to mention six victories in those seven starts.

True, statistics don’t tell the whole story. Such as a gradual step-up in the quality of opponents, for one. Or the way the Pens are playing in front of him. But in this case the numbers don’t lie.

Neither does the eye test. With the notable exception of Game 3, Murray hasn’t looked as sharp.

Could the reed-thin youngster be wearing down under the heavy playoff grind?

Possibly.

Keep in mind, Murray virtually split the goaltending chores with Jeff Zatkoff at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2014-15 when he set the AHL on its collective ear as a rookie pro. This season he shared the Baby Pens’ net with Tristan Jarry before earning a promotion to the NHL.

Unlike Fleury, who averaged nearly 60 games a season since 2005-06 not counting the playoffs, Murray’s never logged a huge workload. The Thunder Bay native topped out at 53 regular-season games as an 18 year old with Sault Ste. Marie.

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Poop Update: Penguins coach Mike Sullivan named Fleury as the Penguins’ starter for Game 5.

Daley Out with a Broken Ankle

Defenseman Trevor Daley won’t be making a miraculous recovery for Game 5. Or any time soon.

The mobile Pens defender suffered a broken left ankle midway through Game 4 on a check by Tampa Bay’s Ryan Callahan.

“He’s a tough guy to replace,” Sullivan said. “He’s a real good player. He’s really helped change our team since he’s come to join our team. He’s got great offensive instincts. He helps us get out of our end zone.”

Daley’s loss could signal a return for Olli Maatta, the former wunderkind who’s endured a tough postseason. The Finnish defenseman missed two games and most of a third against the Capitals after having his bell rung on a late hit by Brooks Orpik. Recently, Maatta was a healthy scratch the past three games.

Derrick Pouliot and Steve Oleksy also are available.