Pittsburgh Penguins: Five Things to Watch in First-Round Matchup

1. 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.