PITTSBURGH _ The Penguins no longer will employ a two-goalie system.
For at least three weeks, anyway.
The announcement Saturday that goaltender Matt Murray will miss three to six weeks with a broken hand suffered while playing for Team North America in the World Cup of Hockey on Sept. 19 means a couple things.
First and foremost, until Murray returns, Marc-Andre Fleury is once again the unquestioned starter. The plan had been for Murray and Fleury to split starts. But the injury to Murray's right, blocker-side thumb will scrap those, at least temporarily.
Murray could return as soon as Oct. 15 at Consol Energy Center against the Anaheim Ducks _ three weeks from Saturday. Six weeks would be Nov. 5 at San Jose. That means Murray could miss anywhere between one and 11 games.
Fleury provides an easy solution as the starter. He's won a pair of Cups, and only two active goalies have more wins. But who backs up Fleury has taken on some added intrigue.
Jeff Zatkoff signed a free agent deal with Los Angeles in the offseason. Zatkoff was Fleury's backup for part of last season, then relegated to an awkward role as the Penguins' third netminder once Murray caught fire at the end of the year.
The most likely candidate is Tristan Jarry, who backed up some in the postseason. Jarry, though, struggled during the second half of the American Hockey League season in 2015-16 and wouldn't be counted upon to make many starts, if any at all.
With the expansion draft looming and Las Vegas preparing to pick its team, many expected general manager Jim Rutherford to trade Fleury this past offseason, perhaps at the NHL Draft. Rutherford resisted.
That move looks plenty smart now, especially when you consider the long end of Murray's timeline.
The move was announced after Fleury had left the dressing room following the first of two on-ice sessions for training camp at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. Coach Mike Sullivan is expected to address Murray's injury after practice.
