This piece started as a comment to my previous post. However, the more I began to write, the more it morphed into a full-blown article.
As our faithful PenguinPoop readers are aware, I’ve been very critical of Penguins goaltender Matt Murray this season. I’ve documented on numerous occasions his disturbing penchant for yielding back-breaking goals at critical times. To my eye, he’s appeared slow and tentative…perhaps even a bit timid in goal.
Well, if I’m going to be hyper-critical, I also need to give him his due.
I thought No. 30 looked like a different goalie Friday night during the Pens’ 2-1 victory over Detroit. Or should I say, the old Matt Murray. He seemed quicker, more decisive and more confident, moving to the top of the crease to challenge shooters instead of playing deep in his net.
Mike Sullivan noticed, too.
“It appears to me like he’s just seeing it,” the Pens coach told Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review. “When Matt’s at his best, he makes difficult saves look routine. I think it’s because of his ability to read plays. He squares up to the puck. His depth in the crease is really good. Pucks tend to hit him or they miss the net because of his depth in the crease whether he’s at the top of the paint or he’s in the middle of the paint or whether he’s going to play deeper if there’s a backdoor option or whatever it may be. He’s making good reads. He’s tracking the puck well. He’s finding the puck through the traffic. And he’s swallowing pucks so that next-play opportunity isn’t there for our opponents.”
Other Rick thinks Murray’s figured out how to protect the short side, which was giving him fits. Freeing him to play a more aggressive style.
Whatever the adjustment, it’s worked. Resembling the lion emblazoned on the back plate of his goalie mask, Murray accomplished something he’s so rarely achieved since the beginning of November…he kept his team in the game and perhaps even stole a win.
Granted, it was the lowly Red Wings he faced down and not the Capitals. But make no mistake…this was a critical win that prevented the black and gold from slipping into a mini-slump. Murray made numerous key stops (28 saves in all) and definitely deserved the No. 1 star.
Speaking of No. 1, it’ll be interesting to see who Sullivan starts for today’s matinee match-up with Boston. I’m guessing he’ll come back with Murray, although Tristan Jarry might be the wiser choice due to his superior puckhandling…better to diffuse the Bruins’ smothering forecheck and high-octane attack.
I guess we’ll see.
For the record, Murray’s been the hotter of the two goalies of late. Over his past four starts dating back to January 4…all of them wins…he’s stopped 126 of 136 shots for a save percentage of .926. His goals against, a tidy 2.44.
Meanwhile, some of the luster’s worn off Jarry’s game. After earning NHL Second Star honors in December, he’s allowed 18 goals over his past six starts for a goals against average of 2.96, while compiling a record of 3-2-1. His save percentage, a pedestrian .903 in the New Year, caused him to lose his grip on the league lead.
Still, having two goalies playing at or near the top of their game bodes well for the Pens. Especially given the difficulty of their second-half schedule, which is loaded with key Metro Division match-ups. And a little internal competition never hurts…especially with Murray and Jarry both in the final seasons of their respective contracts.
A win-win situation.
Wilting Flower
Speaking of goalies, it’s interesting to note that Marc-Andre Fleury’s having his problems in Vegas. In fact, his season has mirrored Murray’s…almost eerily so.
Following a strong start, “Flower’s” save percentage has plummeted to .906 while his goals against average has soared to an unsightly 2.85. His quality starts percentage, a poor .471, sits just a tick above Murray’s .462.
Unlike Murray, it isn’t hard to pinpoint a reason for Fleury’s struggles. His father, Andre, passed away on November 27, a day before Marc-Andre’s 35th birthday and a short time after Flower authored his mind-blowing “Save of the Century” against Toronto on November 21.
Since returning from a leave of absence in early December, Fleury’s posted a hideous .889 save percentage to go with a bloated 3.26 goals against. Perfectly understandable given the magnitude of his loss.
Murray experienced similar struggles when his father passed away a couple of years before. It took him a while to rebound. Let’s hope Fleury’s able to bounce back, too.
Our thoughts and prayers go with him.
Hi Rick!
As for Flower, the death of his father is a terrible blow. You see that he is not 100% focused. Matt Murray went through the same situation. Matt has been playing better hockey for the last two weeks. It took him several months to overcome his sadness. I am sure it will take some time before Flower is able to regroup and get back on track. But Flower is a strong will person. I am confident that he will make his mark again.
Dealing with off-ice emotions can be harder, even if players are generally supported by teammates, family and friends. If the Pens goalies keep on working as hard as they do, they will be scary to play against!
I don’t know if you have noticed guys but Dominik Simon is back from the brink…Since Crosby’s return, Simon has 4 points in his last 4 games. When Sidney got injured on November 9, Simon had 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) spreaded over 27 games. Sidney literally carries Simon on his back!
Simon, by himself, is not very productive. He needs someone to feed him. When a player is so reliant on someone, I don’t think he is a useful asset to the team.
By the way, too bad that the other Dominik is injured. He was playing well and seemed to have found his bearings.
Great comments and observations, Jorenz. I wish I had more time to respond right now. But thank you for sharing about the death of Fleury’s dad. I’ll profess my ignorance…I didn’t know!
As you pointed out, it puts his less-than-stellar play in a human…and perfectly understandable…light. No wonder he’s struggled.
Let’s hope he’s able to make a peace with his dad’s passing.
Rick
Nope. The team saved him, as always. I love him, he’a got heart. he’s just not the goalie everyone thinks he is. He’s good… not great.
Nope not after the first minute of this recent game
Hey Rick,
Sullivan gave Murray confidence boosting games the last bunch. That was obvious when he switched the order for the Montreal, Florida games with Florida having scored the 2nd most goals in the NHL (Tampa scoring 7 goals a game 3 or 4 games in a row have now passed Florida). Then switching back again for the Boston Detroit back to back.
It was what Sullivan did to Desmith last year except last year he did it for a month and a half.
If Murray wasn’t playing today (he is barring last minute injury ahem) I was going to write the obligatory “Sullivan is Babying Murray again” article. I think Sullivan knew the babying would be very obvious if the put Jarry in today.
I’m fine rotating them on how they are playing, but most of Jarry’s numbers over the last five games were against #1 teams in the league. Most he still posted wins.
I sincerely do hope Murray’s confidence is back and he wins today, though if he doesn’t, Rutherford should try to sign him low on Monday.
Nobody is talking about it, but the only goalie the Penguins have signed next year is DeSmith. A very strong possibility is two teams could come in and offer both Murray and Jarry huge contracts and the writing would be on the wall.
Hey Phil,
I was going to flog myself before someone beat me to it. I’m following the game on NHL.com and I saw Murray gave up a goal 11 seconds in and another just past the two-minute mark. Sheesh!
The Bruins are, indeed, not the Red Wings.
I think I need to stop writing about our goalies before I screw everything up… 🙁
… and then as soon as I wrote this comment, Murray turns it around and winds up making 34 saves to do what he’s so rarely done over the past couple of months…slam the door while the Pens come roaring back to win.
Okay…I’m done writing about goalies for a while…lol… 🙂
Rick
LOL. Murray looked good or “rebounded” after the horrible start.
I was laughing thinking about tOR at the end of the 1st after Murray’s 3 goals then Simon getting the Pens going in the first.
Johnson has had 3 goals in the last two Bruins games.
First, I find it very interesting that you were thinking about me rather than the game.
Second, When you were laughing, where you laughing at the 3 on 2 rushes that the team ceded? Both times with Simon on the ice.
Yes Simon had a goal but was on the ice at the wrong end of a Shots Against 3-11, Scoring Chances 5 – 11, and High Danger Chances 1 – 4 and Goals 1 – 2 at 5 on 5, even though he did get a goal, even though he only had one start in his own zone. Every other start was in the Offensive Zone or Neutral Zone.
The Goal was only the 18th in Simon’s illustrious 5 year 158 game career.
Do you really think that there is no one in the organization or through out the league that could top those pedestrian numbers?
And while you were laughing did you laugh at the goal Johnson tipped into his own net?
Just Curious
Hey tOR,
First, I always think of you tOR.
Second, Nope just about what you were thinking at the end of the first.
Third, i thought you would come at this all worked up after Sprong just got sent back to the AHL yet again. Hey it happens. Me and you realize he is way better than Simon, if only anyone that was anyway involved with the NHL, AHL or hockey at all knew that.
I mean just because Simon actually hustles, passes to his teammates, gets more points per 60, has a 25 point better +/- , throws more checks per 60, has more takeways per 60, less giveaways per 60, more blocked shots per 60, I could do this all day per 60, but I don’t have the time like you per 60.
The stats mean nothing, Sullivan was wrong, the Penguins should have kept Sprong and got rid of Simon. So, I’m going to hate Sullivan and Simon along with you now also. They’re both horrible. It’s the players not Sullivan. I mean I know it’s been all different players especially a ton from the AHL this year, but he is the worst coach ever because he got rid of Sprong. Plus everyone knows it was Therriens team that won those back to back cups, not Sullivan’s. I am 100% with you now.
I agree with you with Murray also. This whole counting how a player does the whole season is BS. We should only count when he plays good. If they just count his good games, he is the best in the entire NHL. I don’t know why people can’t see that.
I wasn’t laughing at you, my friend, I was laughing at the fact that the 2 things you pine for day after day went sour that period.
Cheer up, Murray looked better and Simon go injured. It was like your dream game.
Phil,
I am flattered that you always think of me, but I was thinking more about how a coach could allow a team to be so ill prepared to play a home game against an opponent that just spanked them less than 72 hrs earlier that they gave up a 3 on 2 in the 1st 11s of the game and allowed Bergeron to get in behind them.
I do believe Simon was on the Ice for that play. The 3 on 2 wasn’t really his fault per se, Pasternak beat Letang like he was a rookie, walked inside of him drawing Jack Johnson over and leaving Bergeron to McCann who was trying to get into the play. However, Simon was out there and really didn’t do much to distinguish himself from Lafferty, Angello, Adam Johnson, Blandisi, or any other player in the organization. He looked very much like a minimum wage player.
Even after that the team still didn’t get a wake up call from their Coach, did they? With the puck in the LW corner, RWinger Simon flew in to fore-check trapping all 3 Pens Fs in the attacking zone and the Bruins had another 3 on 2 less than 2 minutes later. This time Simon did earn that minus.
I was absolutely shocked that your boy was able to put that bad angled shot into the net after all of the missed nets he has had, but for all of his “hustle” he still ended a -1.
I also see that not only do you obsess about me, but you still obsess about Sprong. First as I have written many times, I banged the Drum for both Sprong and Simon when it became totally apparent to everyone but Sullivan that Sheary was not the answer. I still say that it was good to give both a shot. It is just a shame only Simon was really given that shot. Unfortunately, Simon and Sprong were no better than Sheary.
And while you are checking stats to support failed arguments look at the Sprong minus Crosby vs Simon minus Crosby stats. Subtract out Crosby from both of their stats and Sprong gets 2.2 points per 60, Simon 1.4 at 5 on 5. At 5 on 5 their +/- are almost the same when equalized to %; Sprong is on the ice for a GF% of 40.91% while Simon is on the ice for a GF% of 44.30%, anything below 50%v represents a negative number. In raw terms Simon is a -9 at 5 on 5 away from Crosby, Sprong is a -8.
Get over Sprong he is gone and just as Sheary and Sprong were not the answer, neither is Simon.
And no I am not happy that both Dominik’s got injured yesterday. Yes, I wanted Simon out, but not injured. Although I am no ghoul, I do know ghouls who are gleeful at the injury, just like the jerks that gave Murray the Bronx Cheer! There are classless people everywhere.
What I wanted was a Coach that was able to see beyond his favorites and make decisions that are best for the team without having them forced on him by injury.
I can’t help wonder who will get summoned up from WBS if both Doms are out for the Phi game. Will they call up 2 or just one with Lafferty coming off the bench and the All Star break coming up.
Blandisi will probably get the call because he scored a goal last night.
Murray?, the interesting thing about Goalies, although their GAA is tied into who they are playing with, the Sv% isn’t quite as confounding, particularly when it can be broken down to Hi-Med-Lo chances. Murray isn’t being buoyed up by Crosby. In Fact, Penguins goalies are facing more shots now than at the beginning of the season.
As for my Dream game, my dream game is winning the Penguins winning their last playoff game of the season, nothing else compares.
Wow tOR,
I can’t believe that you and me are on the same page so often anymore. It’s amazing! I agree the only reason Murray crapped the bed at the beginning of the game was Sullivan and Simon. These people that believe that Murray should be ready for games don’t have a clue about hockey. 100% Sullivan’s fault for not telling him the game started.
On top of that, I’m 100% positive Simon is responsible for Murray playing horrible not just this season, but the last three seasons. Let’s be serious, no other goalie ever has to face 3 on twos or 2 on ones or gasp even a breakaway. Get rid of Simon.
Just because Simon has the 3rd best shot differential on the team doesn’t mean squat. Just cause Simon’s is a +117 and Blandisi’s is negative 50 and Lafferty’s a -39 doesn’t scream maybe he would be the better guy to play. Numbers lie!
Plus, all these people that have been putting Sullivan on top of the Jack Adams list are clueless. Watch the game people! Sullivan has been responsible for every Penguins loss, and the players have been the ones that have won the games, not him.
Just like Simon, you take Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel, Rust, Mccman and the rest of them away, I bet Sullivan couldn’t score one point.