Pittsburgh Penguins Need Fluery to be Murray
By Rich Newpol
Marc-Andre Fleury has been mostly solid in the playoffs so far.
However, the Pittsburgh Penguins need Fleury to play a bit more like Matt Murray if they want to win the Stanley Cup again. Here’s why.
What the Penguins Do
As I mentioned in a previous article, the Pens need the goalie to limit soft goals and big rebounds, and come up with timely big saves. This is important for any team, but much more so for the Penguins. Why?
In the defensive zone, the Penguins try to apply high-pressure to the attackers and force a low-quality or blocked shot.
The desired result is a single-shot attempt turnover – then a quick breakout the other way. In fact, if you study Pens hockey, you will see how often the forwards anticipate quick breakouts. If it fails, as it does in this clip from Game 1 against Columbus, the goalie is left hanging out to dry. In this clip, watch how quickly the forwards begin to sprint up ice once it appears Bryan Rust (17) has possession. As soon as his breakout pass fails, all the Pens are completely out of position, and it is in our net.
What the Penguins Need
In that clip, it was an unlucky break, but notice how this play started; Fleury is behind the net trying to play the puck in a crowd.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Predictability
This is the next point – Defense in hockey tries to keep things predictable. Limit offenses to low-percentage shots, keep the puck in the ‘safe’ areas of the ice (in the corners, away from the crease) and so on.
When unpredictable things happen, players are not usually in a good position to defend. If the goalie stops the puck behind the net, he must leave it or pass it quickly. If there is oncoming traffic, he must trust his defensemen to defend and stay in the net.
Unlike Matt Murray, Fleury has a tendency to linger and stickhandle behind the net in unpredictable fashion.
Rebound Control
So far in the playoffs, Fleury has been mostly good with rebound control. However, he has speckled history of giving up goals to second and third-chance rebounds like this one:
One of the most noticeable differences from Fleury is Matt Murray’s tendency to ‘absorb’ shots and offer no rebounds. This outcome leads to a line change option and a faceoff, as opposed to possible scrambling in our own zone.
Staying in the Net
The last technique I want to look at is positioning. In Round 1 (games 1 and 2) against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Fleury was very good with this, swiftly moving from post to post on his feet. Traditionally, especially in big games, he might over-commit his body and end up on his back.
Can the Pittsburgh Penguins Win With Fleury?
Ok, so most of this article sounds like Fleury-bashing, but truthfully, he is a darn good goaltender. It’s not even that I think Murray is overall better. For example, Fleury’s glove hand is definitely quicker than Murray’s. Rather, it is that Murray’s style is a better fit for this Penguins team. If Fleury can blend in a bit of Murray’s type of play – and stay within himself – all will be well.
More from Pens Labyrinth
- Welcome To The Burgh: Lars Eller
- Penguins Waddle Toward The Season
- Farewell Carl Hagelin
- Penguins Line-up Breakdown vs Stanley Cup Champs Vegas
- Ryan Graves Solid Signing For The Pittsburgh Penguins
Hopefully, Marc-Andre Fleury will win his third Stanley Cup to end likely his last season in Pittsburgh. He is already one of the greatest goalies in Penguins history – how sweet would it be for him to go out on top.