Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on Wednesday declined to even reveal if he had made the decision about what goalie he intended to start in Game 1 of the qualifying-round playoff series.
So two days later, when he was asked directly about his choice between Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry to face the Montreal Canadiens, Sullivan predictably offered a polite but firm rebuff of the request.
“I will make that decision and share that on game day,” Sullivan said from Toronto during a video conference call with media.
Faceoff is 8 p.m. for Saturday’s game at Scotiabank Arena.
Not taking them lightly
About the only Sullivan answer to a question that was more unsurprising than about the starting goalie was whether the Penguins could be looking past the Canadiens.
An emerging storyline from the hockey-crazy Montreal market is the heavily favored Penguins might not be viewing the Canadiens as much of a threat to win the series. Only two teams in the league had fewer regulation wins (19 in 71 games) during the abbreviated regular season. Only seven teams had fewer points in the standings (71).
“I don’t know of a single person in our organization that is taking the Canadiens lightly,” Sullivan said. “We understand how good of a team they are, and we have a lot of respect for Montreal and we know we’ve got to be at our best to have success. Our focus right now is on the game in front of us. We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We will do everything we can to be best on the ice in Game 1.”
The Canadiens went 1-1-1 against the Penguins this season, though the Penguins can claim they went 2-1 in the season series. The Penguins won the most recent meeting, 4-1, on Feb. 14 in Pittsburgh.
“Obviously, we have a lot respect for them,” Penguins defenseman John Marino said. “A lot of respect for the players on that team.”
