NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ The early calls for Marc-Andre Fleury started after the Penguins lost Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final Saturday night, 5-1. I dismissed them quickly because I believed Matt Murray would respond with a big game Monday night in Game 4. He always had responded after a bad outing, going 7-0 after a playoff loss that he started with a 1.59 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage.
Well, make that record 7-1 now after the Penguins 4-1 loss to Nashville in Game 4 on Monday.
Add my voice to those calling for Fleury in Game 5 Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena.
I have my doubts that Mike Sullivan will make that move. What I know for sure is that he was unusually surly when asked about it as the Bridgestone Arena crowd stepped onto Broadway outside the building to party into the night.
"We just finished the game about a minute-and-a-half ago," Sullivan growled.
Murray also was in no mood to speculate about Game 5 and his role in it.
"I have no expectations. I say that every single time. It's not my decision. It's not my place to worry about it. I just prepare every game as if I was playing."
Murray is Sullivan's man _ with good reason. Murray won for him in the minors and won 15 playoff games for him last season to help the Penguins to the Stanley Cup.
But Murray was outplayed badly by Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne in Games 3 and 4. Murray allowed three goals on the Predators' first 12 shots Monday night, including two on four shots in the second period when Nashville took a 3-1 lead. He was better in the third period, stopping 11 shots. But it was too little, too late.
Frederick Gaudreau beat Murray on a wraparound shot when Murray was slow to get to his post to put Nashville up, 2-1. Viktor Arvidsson beat him with a wrist shot on a breakaway to all but put the game away because of the way Rinne was playing and because the Penguins had been 0-6 in these playoffs when trailing after two periods.
The Arvidsson goal is the one Murray wanted back.
"I thought I could have been a little more aggressive on it. That's probably the difference right there. If I make a save there, maybe it's a different game."
But other than that?
"Honestly, for the most part, I thought I played pretty well tonight," Murray said.
"I never really look at results to determine how things are going. I go by how I feel out there. A lot of times, whether you win or lose, it's out of your control. You just worry about stopping the puck and worry about things you can control."
Certainly, the loss wasn't all Murray's fault. The Penguins struggled to score again, getting their only goal on a Sidney Crosby breakaway in the first period, his first Cup final goal in 13 games and the first Cup final road goal of his career. Their power play, which was 1 for 13 in the series coming in with just four shots, went 0 for 2 with three shots.
When the Penguins did get a good scoring chance, Rinne was impenetrable. He stopped Jake Guentzel after a fabulous centering pass from Crosby. He stoned Chris Kunitz on a breakaway moments before Gaudreau scored at the other end. He made a strong save to stop Crosby's backhander after a breakaway and then dived across his crease to keep Guentzel from knocking in the rebound.
The Penguins didn't get anything even remotely close to that goaltending from Murray _ despite what he said. I didn't see it coming after Murray outplayed Rinne badly in Games 1 and 2.
But things have changed.
Going to Fleury in Game 5 makes sense for a number of reasons. It's a move that would ignite his teammates and shake them out of their two-game slumber. It certainly would inspire the PPG Paints Arena crowd, which might just put the boisterous "Smashville" crowd here to shame. There's also Fleury's success in his home building to consider. He was 14-3-2 with a .928 save percentage there in the regular season and is 5-3 with a .942 save percentage in this postseason.
Fleury was benched for Murray in the first period of Game 3 in Ottawa in the Eastern Conference final after allowing four goals on nine shots. Sullivan made the decision to stick with Murray after that 5-1 loss left the Penguins in a 2-1 hole in the series. Murray, the starting goaltender and the better goaltender than Fleury before he was hurt right before the playoffs, provided the team with a lift.
The same sort of lift Fleury would give the Penguins now.
Fleury didn't deserve to lose the starting job. He was magnificent in the first two rounds, the top reason the Penguins beat Columbus and Washington. He shut out the Capitals, 2-0, in Game 7. He then shut out Ottawa, 1-0, in Game 2 after losing a tough decision in Game 1, 2-1. He was considered the Penguins' top choice for the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP at that point.
By all accounts, Fleury did not take Sullivan's quick hook well. But even if he seethed, he didn't show it publicly. He is too good of a teammate for that. He has done what all great pros do. He has waited for another opportunity to play and show Sullivan just how wrong he was for making a goalie change in the first place.
That time has come.
