Pens lead goalie youth movement
Jim Rutherford knows what it’s like to be a young goaltender trying to find his way in the NHL. Rutherford went through it with the Detroit Red Wings in the early 1970s, thrust into action at 21 years old with a franchise in the middle of a bumpy transition.
Yet that’s where the comparisons end between Pittsburgh’s general manager and the two young men who will play a major role in determining whether the Penguins can become the first team in more than 30 years to win three straight Stanley Cup championships.
Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry, both 23, have everything Rutherford didn’t when he broke into the league more than four decades ago, from a true position coach to copious amounts of technology at their fingertips to the kind of advanced training techniques (both mental and physical) that Rutherford believes has the NHL’s youngest goalie tandem in position to play a vital role in Pittsburgh’s pursuit of history.
The dark ages of the ‘70s when goaltenders were typically left to sort things out on their own - this is not.
“You didn’t really think about it (back then),” Rutherford said. “You let in bad goals or have bad games, you were kind of on your own and you had to work your way through that. Now these guys have a lot more things to help (them).” Beginning with Mike Buckley, who began working with Murray and Jarry when they were teenage prospects and has meticulously overseen their rise from draft picks to NHL starters. Buckley spent four years as the franchise’s goaltending development co-ordinator before replacing Mike Bales as goalie coach shortly after Murray backstopped the Penguins to a second straight Cup last spring. “You win two championships and make a change, it kind of seems a little odd,” Rutherford said.
“But Buck has been the guy that’s developed both these guys right from the start, so it just made sense that he would move in.”
Other youngsters are shouldering the burden, too, including 24-year-old Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg (16 wins, 2.44 goals-against average), 23-year-old Andrei Vasilevskiy in Tampa Bay (leads league in wins) and 24-year-old John Gibson in Anaheim (an All-Star last season).
GAME OF THE WEEK
Let’s stick with the Penguins theme here. Six months after teaming up to help Pittsburgh lift the Cup, Murray and Fleury will likely be on opposite ends of the ice Thursday night when the Penguins visit Vegas. Both have dealt with health issues this season. Fleury missed two months while dealing with a concussion while Murray was activated off Injured Reserve on Tuesday after recovering from a lowerbody injury.
LEADERS
Goals: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington), Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), 21; Assists: Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay), Jakub Voracek (Philadelphia), Blake Wheeler (Winnipeg), 30; Points: Stamkos, Kucherov 42; Wins: Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay), 20; Goals-against average: Aaron Dell (San Jose), 1.72; Save percentage: Dell, .939