Having two top goalies pays big dividends now
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
With seven regular-season games to go, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford feels it actually is a good time to have two goalies.
While earlier in the year it might have been a challenge to find enough playing time for Matt Murray and MarcAndre Fleury, keeping both has allowed iron to sharpen iron and for each to get some added rest.
“This is a point and time in the season where the twogoalie system works well,” Rutherford said. “It was difficult at different times during the season, for the obvious reason that both guys wanted to play.
“When you look at where we were almost a year ago, starting the playoffs with our third goalie, as long as everything goes well here in the next two weeks, we will start the season with two healthy, rested goalies ready to play.”
The month of March has proven interesting as Fleury has been the better of the two since the March 1 trade deadline.
Who to start come playoff time will remain coach Mike Sullivan’s call, Rutherford said, but he does feel as though this stretch run will serve as an audition of sorts.
“We have a few games left here,” Rutherford said. “I would think it’s going to be important how these goalies play. It makes that decision easier for the coach to make.”
Now nearly a month removed from it all, Rutherford insisted he never seriously considered trading Fleury before the deadline.
“I wasn’t tempted at any time,” Rutherford said. “My position hasn’t changed from the start of training camp.”
Another eye-toward-theplayoffs story line with the Penguins could involve Daniel Sprong. Their forwards are banged up, and he has been tearing up the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The Penguins can’t do anything until Sprong’s Charlottetown team is done, and the Islanders went into Tuesday up, 2-0, in their first-round playoff series.
That is one of the reasons Rutherford said it’s “too early to say” whether Sprong will join the Penguins as a reinforcement for the postseason and a possible infusion of offensive firepower.
This much, however, the GM does know: If Sprong had to have shoulder surgery, this year could not have possibly gone better. Sprong produced 32 goals and a plus-29 rating in 31 games.
“He got to stay here and work out with the big team, be around these guys and understand on a daily basis what it takes to be a good player,” Rutherford said. “When you’re in that room and you see what [Sidney Crosby] does before games, after games, during games, during practices, and you’re a young guy and you’re observing that, you can’t buy that kind of experience.
“Of course, with our trainers, he not only came out of here healthy but stronger and in better shape than if he went right back to junior. Then, he capitalized on that. When he went back there, he was prepared. He went back, and he played his game. He has had a terrific season and should have a very good career ahead of him.”