Murray stands tall
Goalie makes 50 saves as Penguins survive Malkin’s late 5-minute penalty
PHILADELPHIA — So much for easing Matt Murray back into the lineup.
Murray, making his first start since suffering his latest injury six days earlier, was peppered by a Philadelphia Flyers team that was among the hottest in hockey. He made a career-high 50 saves at Wells Fargo Center Monday night to help the Penguins secure a much-needed, 4-1 victory.
“They created a lot of havoc. They got bodies there. There were a lot of pucks where he had to fight hard to get a pad or a glove [on it] and battle to find the puck,” Sidney Crosby said. “In that sense, it was more of a playoff style. It was a really great game for him.
“I don’t know where to rank it. He’s played well for us for a long time. You don’t want to expect that. But, in a way, you kind of do at this point from him. He’s a big-game goalie.”
It’s the middle of February, but, as the captain noted, this could end up being a significant win for the Penguins.
A reeling Penguins team arrived in Philadelphia on a fourgame losing streak and nearly had plummeted out of a playoff spot with just five wins in their 14 previous games.
To snap the skid and escape with two points, the Penguins had to play more than two periods with just five defensemen. They hung on throughout a second period in which they gave up a record number of shots. And they survived a late fiveminute major.
“It wasn’t pretty. But they’re not always pretty. They’re not
always going to be easy,” Murray said. “Tonight was definitely not an easy game. But we battled and got it done.”
Crosby had his prerequisite big game against the Flyers. Evgeni Malkin picked up an assist in his return to the lineup. And Kris Letang punctuated the win with a record-setting goal.
The Flyers came out hitting, throwing a dozen bodychecks in the first period, including one that knocked Olli Maatta out of the game. They got a few good looks early, too, but Oskar Lindblom shanked two and Claude Giroux whipped a shot from the slot wide.
Crosby capitalized on a fortunate bounce to score the first goal midway through the first period. Flyers rookie goalie Carter Hart lost sight of the puck after it ricocheted off Bryan Rust then the end boards to Crosby, who nonchalantly tucked it into the open net.
Crosby has a six-game point streak against the Flyers dating to last season. And in 31 regular-season games at Wells Fargo Center, he now has 17 goals and 29 assists.
Malkin, back after missing five games with an upper-body injury, made his presence felt in the second, setting up his new linemate, Nick Bjugstad. Malkin settled down a skipping puck sent down the ice by Phil Kessel, dropped it off for Bjugstad then cut in front of Hart. Bjugstad shot through that screen for his first Penguins goal, making it 2-0.
“I like what we did. My line, we played tough tonight,” Malkin said.
A quick whistle cost the Flyers a goal later in the second. On a Flyers power play, Murray thought he snagged Travis Konecny’s shot with his glove. So did an official apparently. But the puck was loose, skittering to Nolan Patrick, who hammered it home. The whistle had blown, though, taking the goal off the board and incensing the orangeclad crowd.
“I got lucky. I said thanks afterwards,” Murray said before taking a swig of blue Gatorade.
The Flyers dominated the second, outshooting the Penguins, 28-8. That tied a franchise mark for the most shots the Penguins have allowed in a period, though many came from long range and Murray limited secondchance chances with sharp rebound control.
“He was great, especially in the second period. That’s when the game got away from us a little bit. We couldn’t seem to get out of our end zone,” coach Mike Sullivan said, adding, “I thought we were good in the first period. I thought we were good in the third.”
With just over five minutes left, Jake Guentzel beat Hart between the legs on a wraparound to make it 3-0. Hart stood tall as the Flyers recently won eight consecutive games. But he looked like many of his predecessors while giving up three unremarkable goals Monday.
The Flyers were handed an opportunity to get back into the game when Malkin was assessed a five-minute major and booted from the game for swinging his stick at Michael Raffl with 4:54 left. Malkin admitted it was a “dirty” play, and not a very smart one, either.
The Flyers finally scored on their 48th shot before Murray and the Penguins shut the door.
Letang scored a late empty-netter. It was the 109th goal of his career, giving him the record for most ever by a Penguins defenseman. Letang had been tied with Paul Coffey.
“It’s cool. It’s not the way you want to do it,” Letang said, referring to the fact that there wasn’t a goalie in the net.
“It was huge. All our defensemen stepped up and played a huge role. Our goalie was really strong obviously. “