Pittsburgh Penguins: Who Should be the Starting Goalie in Game 4?

With Matt Murray healthy and Marc-Andre Fleury coming off his worst game of the playoffs, Mike Sullivan has a tough decision to makefor the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Game 3 for the Pittsburgh Penguins was perhaps their worst showing of these playoffs.  While Game 6 at home versus the Capitals last round was bad, they were in that game until the 3rd period.  Game 3 versus the Ottawa Senators was putrid and over within the first 13 minutes of the game.  Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was shelled and replaced with Matt Murray.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Not only did the Penguins give up a goal versus the first minute, they gave up three more in a span of less than 2 and a half minutes.  Yikes!  That is not a recipe for winning and has now left head coach Mike Sullivan with a goalie decision to make in Game 4.  Let’s take a look at the cases for both goalies.

The Case for Marc-Andre Fleury

Hands down, Marc-Andre Fleury had his worst game of these playoffs.  He only stopped five out of nine shots and was chased in the first period after the Ottawa onslaught.  However he does deserve some slack.  Two of the goals were real bad bounces and another was a really poor defensive play by Mark Streit.  Fleury probably wants that fourth goal back.

Regardless we have seen Fleury play great in these playoffs.  Before last night’s disaster, Fleury had a .931 save percentage.  He had stopped 85 of the last 87 shots he faced, including two shutouts.  Fleury has earned the right to play between the pipes in Game 4 and redeem himself by helping the Penguins tie the series.

The Case for Matt Murray

Matt Murray is the Penguins number one goaltender.  He was injured for the first half of these playoffs, but now he is healthy and has a case to start Game 4.

Even though the energy was completely sucked out of the Penguins after their miserable start in Game 3, Murray came in and stopped the bleeding.  He stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced and showed no signs of the lower body injury he sustained near the end of the regular season.  In the regular season, Murray posted a .923 save percentage in 49 games played.  He had a 32-10-4 record and recorded 4 shutouts.

The Penguins cannot afford another game like the one they played Wednesday night.  A goalie switch now might just be the jump start this team needs.

What will Mike Sullivan do?

It’s hard to say which goalie will be Sullivan’s choice to start Game 4.  As of this writing, there had been no decision made.  Personally I would go with Fleury.  Nothing against Murray, but Fleury has earned his spot these playoffs.  I think he can shake off the really bad game and bounce back.

Next: Phil Kessel is the Heart and Soul of This Team

Whatever the decision, Penguins fans are hoping for a better team performance Friday night and a tied series heading back to Pittsburgh.