Seriously, Matt Murray was telling us the other day that he doesn't play hockey. He plays goalie, he insisted.
With all due respect to Murray, I'm going to have to call bull on him. He's a hockey player. He's tough. Perhaps not like Ryan Reaves, Jamie Oleksiak, Ian Cole or any other of his teammates who trade haymakers or block 100-mile-per-hour slap shots with their less-padded bodies, but tough nonetheless.
You want to talk about "tough?" Imagine going through what Murray has endured the last few months.
No, I'm not talking about the bloated 2.93 goals-against average or the .903 save percentage. The toughness Murray displayed Tuesday night goes far, far beyond anything we've seen from him before. That's saying something.
It had been 23 days since Murray last played in an NHL game, 26 before his last start. Now, Murray has missed significant time before with knee injuries, concussions and the usual assortment of injuries. But broken hearts take a little longer to mend. This was his first start since his father, James, died earlier this month, forcing Murray to take a bereavement leave.
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, HIGHLIGHTSSince coming to the Penguins full-time in the fall of 2016, Murray has displayed a maturity, a resolve and poise that belies his 23 years of age. In large part it's what has made him a two-time Stanley Cup champion at such a tender age.
In his still-brief NHL career, he has ascended to -- or near -- the top of his profession, one of the most mentally demanding positions in sports, a position that often requires the help of sports psychiatrists.
Only Murray knows for sure what was going through his mind before and during Tuesday night's game against the Sharks. But how could he not be thinking of his father? As he stood in his goal crease for the national anthem, a young boy from one of the area youth teams was dressed in full goalie equipment next to him. Murray's own children, whenever they might come, will never know their grandfather, whose Scottish heritage is celebrated on the back of Matt's goalie mask.
If his father was looking down on him Tuesday night, the kid did him proud.
The Penguins have talked often in the early part of this season about good efforts going unrewarded. Yeah, this was the exact opposite of that. They won with a less-than-stellar effort only because their goalie bailed them out.
Fittingly, Murray was the No. 1 star in a 5-2 win over the Sharks after making 40 saves on 42 shots. Afterward, he spoke of wanting to "get lost in the game" and that's what he did burying his head in his work.
"For sure, this one meant a little more for me personally," he said. "That's all you can do is take it one shot at a time. Play your heart out on every single shot and that's what I tried to do."
There was no way the Penguins would lose this game, right? But damned if they didn't try.
Any thoughts of easing Murray back into his role went by the wayside in the second period when San Jose outshot the Penguins 23-10 and dominated possession, 60 to 40 percent, per HockeyStats.ca. San Jose took a 2-1 lead on a pair of power play goals from Brent Burns and Logan Couture, but that's what happens when you give the NHL's fifth-best power play four cracks at it. But it would have been much worse had it not been for Murray.
"I thought Matt was our best penalty-killer tonight," Mike Sullivan said, stating the obvious. "It was absolutely an emotional game for him. I thought he was terrific. He made some timely saves that gave us a chance to get our legs and capture the game."
Maybe it was divine intervention. Or maybe it was just a really bad Burns brain cramp with five seconds remaining in the second period, whatever, but it did allow Phil Kessel to set up Evgeni Malkin for the tying goal, the first of three on the night for the Russian.
From that point on, the Penguins rallied behind Murray, who faced just six shots -- three more shots than they deposited in San Jose's net -- over the final 20 minutes.
Did they pour it on late, wanting to win for their teammate? Sure, but when you need two points like the Penguins do, they try to win every game. In the movies there might have been some rah-rah speech during the second intermission, but Jamie Oleksiak says nothing needed to be said.
"We knew Murr was going to to do his thing," Oleksiak told me. "I don't think it was ever a question that Murr wasn't going to stand on his head. We wanted to bounce back after that second. It was a tough second for us. The boys responded well. It was a special moment to share in that with him."
On Tuesday, Murray did what Murray does best. Of those 40 saves, some were of the dazzling variety, like this Hasek-esque stop on Mikkel Boedker in the second:
But mostly it was vintage Murray, a goalie who doesn't blow you away with his athleticism, unlike his predecessor. All he did was stop the pucks he should, and he's so fundamentally sound he makes it look easy. There were no bad short-side goals to be had on this night. And when he did kick out a rebound, he made the second save.
Here, Murray stops Couture's initial shot, then denies Tomas Hertl's backhand attempt:
Here, Murray snares a Kevin Labanc snap shot early in the third:
Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised by Murray's performance Tuesday. This is a goalie who has risen to the occasion before, winning every elimination game he's ever played. Sullivan, who has been Murray's No. 1 fan in the organization, certainly wasn't surprised. He's seen it too many times.
"I think he has a good perspective on where he's at and the opportunity in front of him," the coach said. "He's just a great kid. And because of that he handles adverse situations extremely well. Whether it be ups and downs in the season or whether it be ups and downs within a game and dealing with the adversities that challenge a player or teams in a game. Or in this particular life instance, when he loses his dad. He's just a great kid that has good perspective, I think. And because of that, I think he handles situations extremely well."
Now the Penguins need Murray to build off Tuesday. The emotions might not be as high, but the Penguins need Murray to be, not just the No. 1 goalie, but the elite franchise goalie that he's become.
No offense to Casey DeSmith or Tristan Jarry, the Penguins ain't winning that third straight Cup without Murray in net. It's that simple.
Tuesday wasn't closure, but it was a start.
"He's undoubtedly one of the best goalies in the league," Cole said. "We're just very excited to have him back. He's a great guy and a great teammate and, as you saw tonight, a great goaltender."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins vs. Sharks, PPG Paints Arena, Jan. 30, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
