He wore a full cage mask during the game, but it didn’t stop him from scoring the game-winning goal at 17:48 of the second period of a 4-3 win that tied the best-of-7 series 2-2.
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“You don’t make these decisions in a vacuum; you make them based on the fact that they probably look at this and think if we’re going to win a Stanley Cup, we’re probably going to win it with the guy who’s had a Stanley Cup in his hands”, longtime National Hockey League goaltender Glenn Healy said.
Marc-Andre Fleury replaced Murray in goal for the Penguins at the start of the third, and Kessel’s team-leading eighth goal began the rally that just fell short.
The Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning are tied 2-2 in their Eastern Conference Final.
Sullivan declined to name a starter on Saturday.
Murray earned the respect of Penguins fans everywhere and is without question the goaltender of the future in Pittsburgh. Fleury is the Stanley Cup victor and veteran backbone, but Matt Murray is a 21-year-old rookie who has won 18 of his 24 decisions.
“Marc’s been a big part of this team all year”, Sullivan said. “He’s really helped this team get to the position it’s at with the way he’s played all season”. “I think the team were feeding off his energy and we were trying to follow him, because he had a great start, he scored and he was all over the place”.
Obviously, there are no guarantees, and maybe Fleury will struggle again in Game 6. Brian Dumoulin had scored with one second left in the first period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
“He was awesome, you know”, Lightning forward Ondrej Palat said.
While acknowledging there was a sense of urgency to play better, Cooper and his players insisted the team was not overly discouraged after being badly outplayed in Games 2 and 3 because they been down in series before and found ways to come back. “My job doesn’t change. I just have to be ready when my name is called”.
The Penguins also announced Sunday that defenseman Trevor Daley is out for the remainder of the playoffs after suffering a broken ankle in Game 4.
It doesn’t mean Fleury will be sapped should things go the wrong way for the Penguins, but what does it tell Matt Murray? Like Pittsburgh, the Lightning are more focused on sticking to the style that allowed them to put together their two most dynamic periods since dispatching the New York Islanders in the second round.
“I get to watch them 100-plus times a year”, Cooper said. “(Murray) has carried them to this point. I’m not saying they don’t give you ulcers, but there’s a quiet calm about that group.
“I felt a lot better at the end of it than at the beginning of the period”, Fleury said.
But the Penguins couldn’t find a way to beat Fleury’s counterpart, Andrei Vasilevskiy, at the critical moment to put the game out of reach. “It’s good to see the difference”.
Starting his first game since March 31, Fleury stopped 21 of 25 shots.
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“Our guys, they know the formula”, Sullivan said. He has a career.906 save percentage in 99 playoff appearances, but that’s deceiving: His disastrous post-Cup run from 2009-13 is what we remember; less so the strong work he’s done in the last two postseason, admittedly with a couple of hiccups.
