The netminder status for the Pittsburgh Penguins has been all the trend leading up to the playoffs, and yesterday’s scrimmage may have just tightened it up.
Intra-squad match number two looked a lot different than that of the first one last Saturday. The main reason being that Matt Murray didn’t let in seven goals to his Pittsburgh Penguins counterparts. Monday’s matchup saw Murray and Tristan Jarry switch sides to face different competition, and the scoreboard keeper got a much-needed rest when it came to scoring one side.
It was a bright and visible decision for Coach Mike Sullivan to switch the two netminders, at a minimum, to see where the other one stood. Murray seemingly calmed down after a seven to nothing shellacking on Saturday, only letting in three goals to the Gold Team. His counterpart, Jarry, let in three goals to a Sidney Crosby-less Black Team, whereas he pitched a shutout before.
Neither netminder let in a goal to any of the Pittsburgh Penguins superstars, as a few young and aging players took the highlight real today. The game was much closer on more than a strict stance, but does this mean that the goalies are back even to keel?
The Pittsburgh Penguins goalie battle evens up, for now.
Murray has been quick to receive flack this season, so you could imagine that after game one, he was the lead punching bag. Even though Jarry faced a much more relaxed side in game one, the big question was still waiting to be answered during yesterday’s intra-squad game. That answer came to the tune of him, only allowing three to the same side that got seven past Murray.
Inside Scoop, Second Training Camp Scrimmage: https://t.co/rCzazTZrCQ pic.twitter.com/gwomLZyItB
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 20, 2020
Yes, Sidney Crosby wasn’t on the Black Team today, but fill in, Evan Rodrigues was on the scoreline first. On the flip side of that coin, Murray got beat three times to a party that got blanked by his competition, leaving the gap with consistency still there.
Maybe it’s the cobwebs still being shaken off, or a case of the butterflies, but if Matt Murray wants to even this positional battle out, he is going to need to step it up. He is a two time Stanley Cup Champion, but he’s not playing like it right now. It’s fair to say that the battle has tightened up for now, but it’s far from over, and possibly leaning towards the side of Tristan Jarry momentarily.