Earlier this week, Pens GM Jim Rutherford admitted his club’s two-goalie system wasn’t working, especially for Marc-Andre Fleury.
But for Matt Murray, things appear to be fine.
Murray is an impressive 7-1-0 since returning from a hand injury suffered at the World Cup, with a 1.75 GAA and .939 save percentage. He’s won each of his last three starts, and will look for a fourth victory tonight when the Pens take on the Isles at Barclays (NBCSN, 8 p.m. ET).
Over his win streak, Murray has stopped 63 of 69 shots for a .913 save percentage. Not great numbers, but better than Fleury’s -- after allowing six goals to Minnesota on Friday, his save percentage for the month fell to .889.
“Despite the fact I like having the two top goalies, it’s difficult when both goalies are used to playing the majority of the games,” Rutherford told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Monday. “You get into weeks where they’re splitting and going every other game. That hasn’t worked, at this point, as well as I thought it would.”
For the Isles, Thomas Greiss is in goal. Like Pittsburgh, the Isles also have a crowded crease -- but with three goalies (Greiss, Jaroslav Halak and J-F Berube) instead of two. This will be Greiss’ third straight start, having stopped 26 of 27 shots in a win over Calgary on Monday.
Elsewhere...
-- Chad Johnson returns to the starting role in Calgary, looking to build on a month of November in which he’s gone 6-3-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .930 save percentage. He’ll be up against Frederik Andersen, who beat the Oilers last night.
-- Martin Jones is in net for San Jose after stopping 19 shots in an OT win over Arizona on Monday. Peter Budaj, currently riding a five-game winning streak, is in for the Kings.
