PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting Evgeni Malkin back for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, but will not have their starting goalie.
After being deemed “good to go” by head coach Mike Sullivan earlier in the day, Matt Murray was a late scratch for the game after leaving the ice with more than seven minutes to go in warmups.
That means Marc-Andre Fleury draws back into the starting lineup to begin the Penguins’ title defense.
Rookie Tristan Jarry, who started the regular season finale for the Penguins against the New York Rangers, will serve as the backup.
It’s kind of deja vu for the Penguins because the playoffs opened nearly the exact same way for them a year ago with Murray and Fleury both being injured, with Jeff Zatkoff being forced to make the Game 1 start.
Murray initially seemed to be shaken up in his last start against the New Jersey Devils when he stopped Taylor Hall on a breakaway. He remained in the game and everything since then seemed to indicate he would be ready for Wednesday.
Update: Sullivan said during the first period that Murray is dealing with a lower body injury that happened during warmups.