By Mark Madden
October 8, 2017
Matt Murray #30 of the Pittsburgh Penguins make a save against the Nashville Predators at PPG Paints Arena on October 7, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Penguins’ 10-1 humiliation at Chicago this past Thursday may have served a purpose, however grim:
“We realized how hard it is to win in this league,” said defenseman Olli Maatta, minus-5 at Chicago but plus-2 with a goal and assist in Saturday’s 4-0 home win vs. Nashville. “You can’t go out there and play 50 percent.”
Thanks to Maatta for gauging the Penguins’ level of performance against the Blackhawks. I’d have guessed 10 or 15 percent – lower in the case of goalie Antti Niemi. Keep Tristan Jarry’s number handy.
But things came good Saturday thanks in large part to the Penguins goalie not yet mentioned in this piece, Matthew Murray.
Murray was forced into a relief role Thursday because of Niemi’s stumble. He didn’t fare much better on the night, allowing six goals on 31 shots.
But Murray regrouped Saturday, and that trickled down to the team in front of him: 26 saves on 26 shots on the way to a relatively easy shutout victory.
“We were just on our toes all night,” Murray said, “and because of that we were dictating the game for the most part. We weren’t on our heels like we were against Chicago, and letting them kind of do their thing.”
Nashville didn’t do much of anything, and last year’s Stanley Cup Final first-timers (they won’t be next-timers) were reduced to cheap shots. That gave new (tough) guy Ryan Reaves his Battleship Kelly/Steve Durbano moment: He fought twice, won both, and scored a goal.
You don’t need to read this column to know that Murray is special. He celebrated the end of his rookie season with his second Stanley Cup.
The Chicago game ruined Murray’s statistics for at least a month; Maatta’s, too. (Murray and Maatta were both nonplussed by that prospect.)
But Murray’s not necessarily a stats goalie. Like Marc-Andre Fleury before him, Murray is a “big saves” goalie.
Murray didn’t sparkle in the Penguins’ 5-4 overtime loss to St. Louis on opening night at PPG Paints Arena Wednesday. He allowed five goals on 34 shots and at least two he’d like back, including Alex Pietrangelo’s OT winner.
But he stopped Jaden Schwartz when St. Louis had a two-on-none with the Blues up 4-2 in the third period. The Penguins rallied to force extra play. It’s no stretch to say that Murray’s big save got the Penguins a point.
Same thing against Nashville: With the Penguins ahead 1-0 in the first period, Murray stuffed Pontus Aberg on a breakaway. Jake Guentzel made it 2-0 just moments later.
Sometimes it takes 50 saves to win a game. But one save often goes a long way.
Coach Mike Sullivan stresses playing the game the right way. (Does any coach emphasize playing the wrong way?)
Sullivan certainly coached the right way after that 10-1 loss at Chicago.
Sullivan eschewed practice the next day, opting for video review. Make the players own what happened, and understand exactly what went wrong.
He tweaked his lines and defense pairings against Nashville, but used the same players. That avoided scapegoating and expressed belief.
One tweak worked more than most: Sullivan put an energy guy on each of the top two lines. Bryan Rust skated with Sidney Crosby and Guentzel, Carl Hagelin with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. That got everybody moving.
Malkin scored after just 66 seconds Saturday. Immediate reward helped.
“For sure,” Murray said. “We obviously try to focus on what we need to do: Not try to outscore the other team, but try to outplay the other team. We know the goals will come.”
Next up: At Washington this coming Wednesday. Two daunting prospects loom: Visiting the White House and facing Alex Ovechkin, who has seven goals in his first two games. I’d love to check Ovechkin’s medicine cabinet.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).
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