Matt Murray will get the start for the Penguins in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Qualifying series against the Canadiens.
Head coach Mike Sullivan revealed his choice Saturday morning, citing Murray’s postseason experience over Tristan Jarry as a big factor in his decision.
“We believe we have two great goalies,” said Sullivan. “Both of these guys are going to give us a chance to win. Matt has obviously shown an ability to be at his best when the stakes are high. That certainly should provide some confidence for him going into a playoff environment like this. We’re fortunate to have the guys that we have.”
Murray was in net during the Penguins’ back-to-back Stanley Cup runs in 2016 and 2017.
After losing his starting job to Jarry earlier in the season, Murray grabbed back the No. 1 reins with eight starts in the Penguins’ final 13 regular-season games before the March pause.
[NBC 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]
After Jarry impressed this season, it will be interesting to see how long the leash is on Murray if he struggles. A best-of-five series doesn’t leave a lot of room for error, but the Sullivan is confident in his options.
“Matt has certainly shown an ability to be at his best at this time of year,” Sullivan added. “We’ll take each game as it comes, but we feel good about the goaltending tandem that we have.”
(5) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (12) Montreal Canadiens
Saturday, Aug. 1: Canadiens vs. Penguins, 8 p.m. ET – NBC (Livestream)
Monday, Aug. 3: Canadiens vs. Penguins, 8 p.m. ET – NBCSN
Wednesday, Aug. 5: Penguins vs. Canadiens, 8 p.m. ET – NBCSN
Friday, Aug. 7: Penguins vs. Canadiens*
Saturday, Aug. 8: Canadiens vs. Penguins*
You can watch all the NHL playoff streams on the NBC Sports app.
MORE:
• Penguins vs. Canadiens series preview
• 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule
• Why your team won’t (and will) win the Stanley Cup this season
• NHL Power Rankings: Stanley Cup-less veterans to root for
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.