Penguins rookie Murray has Rangers in danger

PITTSBURGH— Matt Murray watched the Pittsburgh Penguins’ secondround collapse against the New York Rangers from afar two years ago. The wispy goaltender was still a teenage prospect in the spring of 2014 when a 3-1 series lead morphed into a franchise-altering meltdown.

The view is far different this time around for the 21-year-old with the patchy playoff beard and the preternatural calm. The 3-1 advantage Pittsburgh takes into Saturday’s Game 5 (3 p.m. ET) has as much to do with the rookie’s steadiness while filling in for injured Marc-Andre Fleury as it does the performances of the bold-faced names in front of him.

Murray is perhaps the most visible rookie making an impact during the post-season. He stopped 47 of the 48 shots he faced in the first two post-season starts of his blossoming NHL career, ultimately one-sided victories in Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden in which he outplayed Rangers star Henrik Lundqvist.