Hockey fans are notorious for overreacting, and us Pittsburgh Penguins fans are no exception. Has Matt Murray’s honeymoon period run its course?
Well, it’s probably time to address the elephant in the room.
I hate the words “goalie controversy” more than almost any other phrase, and I don’t think the Pittsburgh Penguins have quite reached a true controversy yet. Thank goodness. However, there have definitely been some rumblings about a goalie shakeup.
To be fair, each side has its merits. Matt Murray has more than earned his current role as starter, helping the Penguins wrap up their strong season and leading them through the playoffs so far. He’s incredibly talented and has been better than anyone had hoped.
Coach Mike Sullivan believes in him partially because of that natural skill and partially because of his mental composure. He continues to start the young goaltender because of that resolve and determination to always be better.
Back during my days as a goalie, my coach would always tell me to have a memory like a fish – you can’t think about the goals you’ve already let in, because they’re behind you (literally and figuratively). You just need to look forward to the shots still coming at you and focus on stopping those.
Granted, I was a lacrosse goalie and by the nature of the sport we usually let in more goals than hockey ‘tendies do. But us goalies are a weird breed, regardless of whether we play on ice or on a field. That “memory like a fish” mentality is sometimes very difficult to maintain, especially at a young age when you don’t have much experience and sometimes feel like everything’s going past you.
There were some junior varsity high school games where I let in a bad goal and got thrown off for the remainder of the game. I can’t even imagine how a rookie leading his team through the Stanley Cup playoffs feels.
That’s what makes Murray unique, and that’s why keeping him in as starter makes sense. He’s definitely let in a few soft goals, and this round’s been more difficult for him than earlier ones. But what else would you expect? We’re in the Eastern Conference Final against a dominant Tampa Bay team.
On the other hand, we’ve got Marc-Andre Fleury on the bench – something that if you’d have told me would be happening early on in the season I wouldn’t have believed for a split second. I’m incredibly thankful for how much of a good sport he’s been with this entire situation, because the entire team could – and would – have been thrown off if there was obvious anger in the room.
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Fleury’s a great goalie and definitely got us through a majority of the season, from when the team wasn’t playing well to their rediscovered success. He’s been their saving grace through seasons past, especially after he worked with a sport psychologist. We all know this.
There’s a mental question on this side of the equation as well. Fleury hasn’t played in a month and a half, and the Eastern Conference Final is a difficult place to make a comeback. He’s a professional and can definitely do it, but he’s still probably pretty rusty. Plus, he surely knows that any mistake will open the door for Murray to steal his job… again. That’s a lot of pressure.
Of course, he’d relish the chance to reclaim his role as starter given the chance. If Sullivan chooses to start him over Murray any time soon, or even in relief, he’ll do his darnedest to play the best game of his career.
I understand the goalie mentality, sure, but more than anything I love the feeling of proving yourself in net. A combination of adrenaline, skill, and luck is almost unstoppable, and when you’ve got a desire to prove someone wrong… well, it’s a powerful feeling.
I don’t see Sullivan switching things up with the goalies at this point. He respects Murray’s game too much and, realistically, the Pens aren’t really playing poorly. This doesn’t merit a change in net at all.
Frankly, it’s a blessing that we’ve got two such talented goalies that we even have this problem. There’s a hockey idiom that when you’ve got two goalies, you’ve really got none. I don’t see that panning out for the Penguins.
Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen were an example of that happening in Dallas this year; both are pretty highly paid and are quite talented. However, when the two former starters were paired up in Dallas this year and their roles got a little muddled, things fell apart. The Stars ended their playoff run with two formerly fantastic goalies turning into sieves.
On the other hand, both those guys are established in their careers and have had lots of success. The Stars’ defense is also, admittedly, not great. A goalie tandem could easily work out in Pittsburgh down the line.
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Yes, I know that there’s a good chance that the expansion draft could eventually mess these plans up. But that’s not an issue at the moment – let’s just focus on getting through the playoffs successfully for the time being. Right now, I’m comfortable with our goalie situation and trust that Sullivan will make the right choice in net.