Pittsburgh Penguins: Mike Sullivan’s tough decision still looming

Mike Sullivan has a tough decision ahead of him for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The task at hand, decide who starts in between the pipes tomorrow night.

It seems like all year; there have been monthly debates on who is better. Is it Matt Murray and his two Stanley Cups, or is it the young and athletic Tristan Jarry? This functional problem to have for the Pittsburgh Penguins is good indeed but will lead to a migraine for Coach Sullivan shortly. There truly is no more significant debate than this right now.

Mike Sullivan had this to say after the Penguins latest exhibition game against the Flyers:

“It is a very difficult decision, these guys want the net, they’re competitive guys and I understand that. The coaching staff will make the best decision in terms of what we think is best for the team.”

Sully is right, there is no question on whether or not these two have competing issues, but he and his staff with have there work cut out for them, and they better have the ibuprofen ready. This quote came after the Pens loss to the Flyers, where Murray played the first half of a 3-2 OT loss. Murray saw a full amount of action early on, and he was left hanging on a few occasions.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Mike Sullivan’s tough decision still looming

Jarry came in at the literal halfway point and was extremely useful in between the pipes. Young Jarry had all the credit to his name until he was dealt with facing back to back breakaways leading to the Penguin’s loss. The storyline for the exhibition match is no different than the one we’ve seen all season and especially in training camp.

Although Murray has seen more shots and more action, he hasn’t stood up to the task at hand. On the other foot, Jarry has maybe faced a weaker load but has taken the responsibility on and shut the door on many occasions. This day to day battle with inevitably change from time to time, but the looming questions remain; who will start for the Penguins on Saturday night against Montreal?

The one person that has to make that decision hasn’t yet, leaving us to speculation and wonder. You could look at the fact that Jarry came out to take questions as a hint, or the fact that Murray has consistently faced the harsher sides may be a clue, but in truth, no one knows. Coach Sullivan will make his choice, and soon, all we can do is wait and see what comes from it.