PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

MATT MURRAY HAS FOUND HIS RHYTHM

The Pittsburgh Penguins have to be encouraged by how well Matt Murray has been playing as of late.

After losing third-period leads in recent games against the Flyers and Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins fans have been bashing Matt Murray.

Murray had an underwhelming first couple of months to start the 2018-19 season. Following a below-average 2017-18 campaign, I was semi-worried. Injuries and inconsistent play seemed to be limiting Murray’s potential as an elite netminder.

Since returning on December 15, 2018, against the Los Angeles Kings, Murray has been very good. Courtesy of Natural Stat Trick, here is where he ranks amongst the 45 NHL goaltenders that have played a minimum of 1,000 minutes since December 15th.

• Even-Strength Save Percentage: .934, 3rd
• Goals Saved Above Average: 11.34, 3rd
• High Danger Save Percentage: .857, 3rd

Since returning from injury, Robin Lehner and the Jordan Binnington are the only netminders who have fared better than Murray in these categories.

The Penguins are 16-5-2 in Murray’s last 23 starts. It seems to me that the media and fans are blowing some his recent performances out of proportion. Between Murray’s recent play and Casey DeSmith’s breakout season, I do not anticipate the Penguins goaltending becoming a liability down the stretch.

Murray’s even-strength save percentage for this season (.925) now falls in line with his career average in this category (.923). He has climbed out of the basement in terms of goals saved above replacement. After a rough couple of months, Murray has responded in a big way.

I reckon that this two and half month stretch is the most consistent version we have seen of Murray since he returned in the latter half of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Murray did indeed have some hiccups over the past week. There’s no denying that. However, I’d much rather him have those hiccups in February and March than in April or May.

With Murray in the net over the last 4 games, the Penguins have obtained 6 of 8 possible points. Furthermore, he did steal a win in Philadelphia back on February 11 stopping 50 of the Flyers 51 shots.

Considering the current state of the Penguins defense, they may need Murray to continue to perform at an above-league-average level if they want to make a deep run this spring.