OTTAWA, Ontario _ Maybe Matt Murray was the magic elixir the Penguins' offense needed.
Or maybe chalk up the result to Murray's calm demeanor, which was evident from the start of this one.
It could also be a coincidence.
Whatever the reason, Murray's return as the Penguins' starting goaltender coincided with a better offensive performance and ultimately a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final on Friday at Canadian Tire Centre.
With the series tied at two wins apiece, Game 5 will be Sunday back in Pittsburgh.
The decision to start Murray _ who stopped 24 of 26 shots _ over Marc-Andre Fleury for this one was hardly easy.
A case could be made that it was the most difficult call coach Mike Sullivan had to make all season. Earlier in the day, he showed little interest in discussing the specifics.
Although he was touched for two goals, Murray mostly looked like the goaltender who backstopped the Penguins to a Stanley Cup last season and won 32 games during the regular season in 2016-17.
His rebound control was especially good early, with pucks sticking to him. Other times, Murray strategically funneled shots to the outside. Never was he flipping or flopping or giving anyone reason to be concerned.
Not bad when you consider this was Murray's first start since April 6, when he said he felt something pop and then re-injured whatever it was during warmups before the first game of the playoffs.
As a result of Friday's win, the Penguins improved to 12-2 in the playoffs under Sullivan after a loss.
With Ottawa buzzing as a result of a goal late in the second period, Murray made three keys stops in a 17-second stretch early in the third, on Mike Hoffman, Erik Karlsson and Tom Pyatt.
Held to two or fewer goals in six consecutive games and in seven of their past eight, the Penguins got goals from Olli Maatta, Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin.
They hadn't reached the three-goal mark since Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Washington, but they turned in their most aggressive performance so far in this series, finishing with 35 shots on goal.
Maatta staked the Penguins to a 1-0 lead at 19:14 of the opening period. After taking a pass from Crosby, Maatta snuck a shot under Craig Anderson's right arm from the bottom of the right circle.
It went down as the first playoff goal of Maatta's career, in his 47th game.
The early part of the first saw Murray make several key stops, his best a sprawling stop on Derick Brassard _ so much for that groin injury.
An earlier sequence saw Murray make one save on Hoffman, then deny Viktor Stalberg on a pair of rebound attempts from in close.
The Penguins lost Chad Ruhwedel in the final minute of the period. Brassard's stick caught him in the nose, and Bobby Ryan delivered a high hit.
Murray opened the second period with another clutch stop, this one on Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
When Pageau was calling for roughing _ he put Crosby in a headlock _ the Penguins made the Senators pay.
Jake Guentzel found Crosby, who was camping out by the right post, for a goal and a 2-0 Penguins lead at 7:41. Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson stopped the first with his left pad before Crosby was able to shove the second attempt through.
The Penguins killed off another Senators power play later in the period _ Ottawa went 0 for 4, falling into an 0-for-25 funk over the last nine games _ before scoring again.
Dumoulin stretched the Penguins lead to 3-0 at 11:30 of the second period when his point shot glance off Dion Phanuef's skate.
After the puck went in the net, Evgeni Malkin pointed at Phaneuf, as if to alert him that it was his goal.
Murray's only hiccup wasn't even really a mistake. On the Senators' only goal, Ryan completed a gorgeous feed from a distance, and Clarke MacArthur finished from the slot. Ron Hainsey fell down on the play, too, but it was more of a tip-your-cap goal than anything.
A double-deflection led to the Senators third goal, a puck that caromed off Tom Pyatt's skate at 14:59 of the third period, but the Penguins were able to hold strong the rest of the way.
