PITTSBURGH _ This week for the Penguins brought to a merciful close one of the worst goaltending performances in recent memory _ the Antti Niemi Era.
On the opposite end of that spectrum has been Matt Murray, a two-time Stanley Cup champion by age 23, a young star in the making, but also a netminder with the mental maturity of a grizzled, 35-year-old veteran.
These past two games have been the perfect illustration of Murray's value to this team and just how good he's going to be.
Murray stopped 30 of 31 shots in Thursday's 2-1 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets at PPG Paints Arena, running his record to 25-4-4 during regular-season games here.
Since allowing six goals on 31 shots out of the bullpen in Chicago on Oct. 5, Murray has rebounded by stopping 204 of his past 218 shots for a save percentage of .936.
Murray has won all seven of those decisions.
Stretching back to last season, Murray improved to 11-0-1 in his past dozen regular-season decisions, a run of success that doesn't even take into account winning a second consecutive Stanley Cup.
Then there's this: In Murray's past two games, the only two goals he's allowed have been on shots that were deflected by his defensemen: Chad Ruhwedel on Connor McDavid Tuesday, Kris Letang on Josh Morrissey Thursday.
Murray's dominance has helped cover for a Penguins team that has struggled defensively during parts of the season but has still managed to pick up points.
It looked for stretches of this one that another of the Penguins' early-season strengths _ the power play _ would shine brighter than Murray.
It entered the game with goals in eight of 10 games thus far and a 30-percent success rate that was tied for second in the NHL.
The top unit looked every bit that good, too. Quick, smart puck movement. A shoot-first mentality. Simplifying when needed. The opportunities were there. They simply didn't go in.
No matter. Phil Kessel won it in overtime for a second consecutive game, scoring on a breakaway at 1:07 of overtime for his 300th career goal.
As a result, the Penguins (7-3-1) kept up their dominance against this franchise, specifically on home ice.
They've won 17 consecutive home games against Winnipeg/Atlanta, a run that dates back to March 24, 2007. Overall the Penguins have taken 17 of the past 20 in the series.
The Penguins are now 28-6-2 against the Jets/Thrashers in the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin Era.
The third period didn't lack for action. Kessel had yet another a glorious chance, but it sailed wide _ with Patric Hornqvist posted up at the right post.
The Jets enjoyed a three-on-two break that looked promising _ until Brian Dumoulin used his stick to help Murray knock the puck away.
Crosby got creative when his lifted a pass to himself, confusing Tyler Myers, but he was unable to finish.
Conor Sheary has been plenty opportunistic thus far this season, taking advantage of a few breakaways, and he did something similar on the Penguins' first goal.
Crosby began the sequence by picking a puck out on the defensive end. Jake Guentzel skated with speed and slid a pass between 6-foot-8 Jets defenseman Tyler Myers' legs. Sheary stuck his stick out and, with one hand, re-directed it through Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck's five-hole at 1:25.
The Penguins lost eight of the first 12 faceoffs in this one, a recurring problem for much of the season; they entered the game 21st in the NHL in faceoffs at 48.9 percent.
After an offensive-zone win for the Jets, Morrissey fired a shot from the left point that deflected off Letang's stick and over Murray's glove at 9:26, tying the score at 1.
The Penguins peppered Hellebuyck with six shots on goal during their second power play of the game, including a point-blank chance for Hornqvist in the slot.
It looked like Carl Hagelin scored to make it 2-1 during five-on-five play at 6:10, but Morrissey knocked the net off its moorings, and the whistle blew, producing that second power-play chance for the Penguins.
Murray continued to sparkle in the second period. He stopped Patrik Laine twice and denied Myers on a breakaway, the second Laine stop drawing a huge ovation from the PPG Paints Arena crowd.
Earlier, in the first period, Murray made a couple of key stops: off the top on Mark Scheifele and a pad stop on Blake Wheeler.
The Penguins are scheduled to practice Friday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex before flying to Minnesota for back-to-back games against the Wild and Jets on Saturday and Sunday.
