Four goals on nine shots. Just like that the game was over. Pittsburgh didn't even make it to the halfway point of the first period. When playing against teams who run a 1-3-1 one of the best ways to beat it is to score first. Failing at that x4 is going to be a recipe for failure and it was.
In mostly every goal that gets scored in the league you can trace back at least some blame to the skaters in front of the goalie. "Well if __________ had done that then the goalie wouldn't have been in that spot." No kidding, that's the sport. A .556 save percentage is a .556 save percentage. You can't win with it. It does not take away anything from previous games where Marc-Andre Fleury was very good. It is possible to criticize Fleury's play and also give proper kudos to previous play, nuance is a thing.
So where does this leave the goaltending situation? My opinion shouldn't come as a surprise. I think the door is open for a change. The logic is simple. Matt Murray is the best player at his position on the team and appears to be healthy. That's pretty much it. Fleury was "insurance" for if Murray went down. He's not down anymore. Fleury did his job. He got Pittsburgh through the Washington series and that was commendable.
This discussion is a classic "play the better player vs. playing the hot hand". For me I don't think the hand is as hot as some think. Fleury has been good, but not top end of the playoffs great, which is what I would need from him to continue leaving Murray on the bench. Fleury's .928 even-strength save percentage in this year's postseason is solid. No complaints on that front. It does however only rank ninth among the 16 playoff goaltenders with four or more games played. Save percentage typically rises when the playoffs hit with this year being no exception.
You'll also notice the ever-improving save percentage as the years go on.
The main advantage of playing Murray over Fleury is that despite Fleury's athleticism it does not lead to having a better high-danger save percentage. Including both regular season and playoffs this year Marc-Andre Fleury has played 51 games while Matt Murray has played 49. Pretty even sample. Murray's high-danger save percentage at 5v5 is 83.21% vs. Fleurys 80.07%.
*This sample does not include Fleury's past two games because Corsica has not been updated since those games. The missing sample includes a shutout and getting shelled.
Playing your best should come before chasing what would be the best story. When asked about the goalie situation Mike Sullivan was non-committal which seems strange if he had no reservations about starting Fleury in Game 4.
All that said, it won't matter who the goaltender is if the team doesn't start figuring out how to score goals.
It appears the Senators have Pittsburgh's number so far this year. There is literally no room for error with Pittsburgh goaltenders with this kind of offensive output. This is very bad.
One nice thing about Pittsburgh playing the Senators is that it comes with good work from Travis Yost
At home Guy Boucher wanted Karlsson against Sid. It worked really well for the Senators yesterday.
We have more possession issues to discuss.
Hainsey and Dumoulin continue to live in the Penguins zone. Mark Streit made his debut and was a 72.22% possession player which led all defensemen for Pittsburgh in Game 3.
The Penguins have a Nick Bonino problem. He's been terrible this year, but what is the alternative? Matt Cullen can't handle those kinds of minutes anymore (in my opinion). Jake Guentzel is a natural center, but he has never done so in the NHL. There really isn't a good option. Bonino is just going to have to play better. Here's a comparison from last year's playoff run to this year's.
*Sample does not include Games 2 and 3 of Eastern Conference Finals for same reason as listed above
Basically, Nick Bonino is doing a great Brandon Sutter impression and it is leaving too much of the offense up to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin just like it used to be.
Here is a glass half full approach for Pittsburgh heading into Game 4. You can lose by one goal, four goals, ten goals, or 20 goals. The loss counts the same.
The goalie decision and the health of Patric Hornqvist, Bryan Rust, and Justin Schultz will be things to track heading into tomorrow.
Thanks for reading!
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