Matt Murray wasn’t available for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Columbus Blue Jackets. If he ends up being an option vs. the Washington Capitals, it might not be for a while.
The Penguins provided a less-than-promising update on Monday: he hasn’t yet resumed skating.
Now, there is some time for him to even get ready by Game 1, as their second-round series doesn’t begin until Thursday.
Considering Washington’s firepower, it would be nice for the Penguins to have two championship goalies to choose from in case things get ugly, but at the moment it seems like it’s Marc-Andre Fleury or bust.
“MAF” has his critics, but his overall work was strong vs. Columbus.
He won four of five games, generating a fantastic .933 save percentage. That’s a promising start to the playoffs, providing some hope despite a shaky .907 career playoff save percentage and a middling regular season (18-10-7, .909 save percentage and 3.02 GAA).
The less-than-positive aspects of Fleury’s numbers make Murray’s continued injury issues more unsettling, but Pittsburgh will just need to hope for improvements.
Or for Fleury to remain at the top of his game.