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Goaltending
The Flyers welcomed back starting netminder Brian Elliott last week, returning from surgery after an extended absence. Elliott only played in two games to end the season, but pitched a shutout for the Flyers in a must-win against the Rangers. In addition to Elliott, the Flyers also have Petr Mrazek and Alex Lyon, who split time in net while Elliott was out.
"Elliott: 43 GP, 23 W, 11 L, 7 OTL, SV% .909, 2.66 GAA"
"Mrazek: 22 GP, 9 W, 7 L, 3 OTL, SV% .891, 3.22 GAA"
"Lyon: 11 GP, 4 W, 2 L, 1 OTL, SV % .905, 2.75 GAA"
In 41 playoff games, Elliott has a record of 15-22 with a 2.60 GAA and a .908 Save Percentage. The Flyers are hoping Elliott plays more like he did in 2015-2016 with the Blues than he did last year with the Flames. In four games last year with Calgary, he gave up 12 goals, with a 3.89 GAA and .880 Save Percentage.
On the flip side, the Penguins welcomed back Matt Murray last month after an extended absence due to a concussion. While Murray has been criticized for having a less than stellar season, he’s been on pace with the other goalies in the system. Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith combined for 20 wins throughout the season.
"Murray: 49 GP, 27 W, 16 L, 3 OTL, SV% .906, 2.92 GAA"
"Jarry: 26 GP, 14 W, 6 L, 2 OTL, SV% .908, 2.77 GAA"
"DeSmith: 14 GP, 6 W, 4 L, 0 OTL, SV% .921, 2.40 GAA"
In 32 playoff games, Matt Murray’s record speaks for itself. Murray has a postseason record of 22-9, with a 1.95 GAA and a .928 Save Percentage. I’d expect the Flyers to get a lot of shots on net, especially towards Murray’s glove side.
There’s a good chance that whomever wins this series will do so because of solid, but not stellar goaltending.