Matt Murray shines in Penguins' road victory against Sabres
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Pittsburgh Penguins have an ongoing competition between goaltenders Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry. And management appears content to let it play out during the final four weeks of the regular season before determining who the starting goaltender will be entering the playoffs.
If either has pulled ahead of the other in his evaluations, Mike Sullivan is being reticent with that information.
“We’re going to make decisions game to game to help the team win,” Sullivan said in a curt manner when he was asked recently how he’ll utilize his netminders over the next month. “That’s really the criteria we use.”
Murray was arguably the biggest reason his team came away with a 4-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday at KeyBank Center.
He finished with 28 saves, including 10 during a second period when he faced a number of odd-man rushes resulting in high-danger shots on net.
“He was huge,” said forward Patric Hornqvist, who scored twice. “(The Sabres) had probably three, four odd-man rushes and breakaways, and he made really big stops for us. That’s why he’s there.”
The Penguins also benefited early from the return of forward Nick Bjugstad, who had been sidelined since Nov. 15 because of a core muscle injury.
Pursuing a rebound in the Sabres’ crease, Bjugstad was tripped by Sabres forward Curtis Lazar and defenseman Jake McCabe then collided with goaltender Jonas Johansson. Claiming the rebound in the slot, Hornqvist spun off a check from McCabe and lifted a backhander past a helpless Johansson for his 16th goal of the season.
After on-ice officials ruled the goal as legal, The Sabres issued a coach’s challenge claiming goaltender interference, but it was determined Bjugstad’s crash into Johansson was caused by Lazar and McCabe. Bjugstad, who has been limited to 11 games this season, netted the primary assist, only his second point of the campaign.
“I didn’t think I would have that many nerves,” said Bjugstad, whose injury woes can be traced to the second game of the season. “I was a little nervous going into it because it had been so long. I just wanted to go out and get my feet under me.”
“Being back in the lineup, definitely very thankful. It’s been a long time, and it’s good to get a win here.”
On the Penguins’ ensuing power-play opportunity, McCabe scored his third goal on a short-handed breakaway at 9:01 of the first.
The Penguins reclaimed the lead, 2-1, at 12:26 of the first when defenseman Marcus Pettersson stroked a one-timer from the left point through Johansson’s five hole for his second goal.
In the second period, the Penguins struggled with the Sabres’ attack but were bailed out by Murray.
His biggest save came 5:55 into the second frame. Creating a two-on-none rush, Sabres forward Marcus Johansson fed a pass from the left circle to the right circle for forward Jimmy Vesey. Murray read the sequence like a pulp novel, slid to his left and easily kicked out Vesey’s one-timer.
“You just try to make a read and do what you can to get over there,” Murray said. “They can shoot or pass, so you’ve got to be ready.”
The Penguins didn’t record a shot in the second until the 13:32 mark. Fortunately for them, it went in as Hornqvist buried a wrister from the right of the crease for a power-play score.
The Sabres pulled within one at 1:57 of the third period when Marcus Johansson ripped a wrister from the slot for his ninth goal.
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby snuffed out any notion of a comeback at 6:02 of the third. Off a two-on-one rush, Crosby fired a sinister backhanded shot from the right circle past Johansson’s glove on the near side for his 15th goal.
How the Penguins’ goaltending competition progresses is a matter of speculation. But Murray certainly solidified his case to be the team’s starter come mid-April.
“I thought he was real good, especially in the second and third,” Sullivan said. ‘He made some big saves for us down the stretch, but in the second period, where I didn’t think we were at our best, I thought Matt was really good.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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