CALGARY, Alberta -- Penguins 9, Flames 1.
That was the final score here Thursday night at Scotiabank Saddledome, and yet, somehow, the winning team's goaltender, the one who saw the game settled before the first intermission, still wound up the unquestioned star.
No, really.
Sure, it's neat that Matt Murray's team, which now leads the NHL at 4.38 goals per game, scored nine for the first time since Dec. 11, 2008, on Long Island. And it was fun that Sidney Crosby scored another viral goal, that Patric Hornqvist scored two more, that Phil Kessel matched him, and that Bryan Rust, Jack Johnson and Matt Cullen all broke through.
As Murray observed, "Glad I'm on this side of it instead of playing against it."
But ask most anyone on either side, and they'll point to Murray.
"If he doesn't play the way he plays , it's a completely different story," Cullen was telling me. 'It's good to see him playing at the level he's been playing the last few. He's been lights out. Tonight was no exception. He was really good. He made some huge saves on some Grade-A chances in the first half of the game that really kept us going."
Was it Murray's best performance of the three games north of the border so far, even the shutout in Toronto or the multiple stoned breaks in Edmonton?
Mike Sullivan thought so:
Murray has been dialed in this entire road trip. Yep, even after he gave up five goals in Edmonton, where the Oilers could have easily matched the Penguins goal output on this night if it weren't for his strong play. After giving up 11 goals over the first two games and then suffering his second concussion of the calendar year, he has bounced back to look like the goaltender who won two Stanley Cup championships.
And is eager for a third.
"I feel pretty good," Murray was saying of his overall game. "Just trying to get better as I go here. I think we've had a good trip thus far. Looking to continue that to Vancouver."
Needless to say, it won't be Casey DeSmith in net Saturday night against the Canucks.
But let's talk about Murray's game in Calgary first. He made 38 saves on 39 shots, seven of them high-danger chances. One was a diving stop against James Neal with a yawning net on a Calgary power play 2:29 into the game.
I asked Murray about that save, and he gave the typical ho-hum, no-big-deal answer:
Well, here's the not-so-ho-hum replay:
As Cullen said, if the Flames score there, it might have been a different outcome.
"I thought we had some good looks," Neal himself said. "Murray made a big save right at the start, and that's a tough one. That changes the game for sure."
But that was just the third of 38. In the second period, Murray stopped Neal again:
And in the third, with the game well in hand, he stopped Sam Bennett on a breakaway:
"It gives us so much confidence as a group when you see Matt playing as well as he is," Cullen was saying. "He's so big in there, so calm and poised and athletic. When he battles like that, he's tough to beat. You can just see the bench get a lift when he plays like that."
Alas, this performance didn't have a perfect ending. With two minutes remaining and on the 39th and final shot, Neal broke through with what had to be the ugliest of his 265 career goals, a one-timed 21-foot floater that somehow knuckled under Murray's trapper.
It was a rotten way to end an otherwise spectacular performance. But, don't worry, there weren't too many questions about Murray's glove hand Thursday.
Afterward, even he could chuckle about it.
"Yeah, I just kind of lost it in his pants or something," Murray was telling me with a smile. "I was just looking to play it quick and I just got ahead of it. Yeah, I just brush that one off."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Matt Murray
Penguins goaltender
For all the reasons stated above.
2. Patrick Hornqvist
Penguins right winger
He was laughing the other day when a local reporter in Banff dubbed him a "fourth-liner." Well, he isn't paid like one, nor does he play like one. After ending his scoring drought in Edmonton with two goals, he added another two in southern Alberta.
3. Phil Kessel
Penguins right winger
In his 700th consecutive game, Kessel celebrated with two goals, the first by chasing down his own rebound, the second on a breakaway after coming out of the penalty box. He ripped a wrister to the blocker side on Mike Smith -- both pipes and in -- who was mercifully chased from the game.
THE GOOD
There was no shortage of positives to take away from the Penguins' latest win. But try this one on: The Penguins have had five players score two goals in Wild Rose Country the past two games. In Edmonton it was Crosby, Hornqvist and Jamie Oleksiak. In Calgary it was Hornqvist and Kessel.
Rust, Cullen and Jack Johnson also scored their first goals of the season. Sullivan seemed most pleased to see the veteran defenseman get on the stat sheet after Johnson took a lot of heat for his performance in Edmonton, when he was on the ice for five goals.
After reviewing the film, Sullivan says he found no fault with Johnson on any of those goals.
"He's quietly played a sound game for us," he said. "I don't think he always gets some of the credit that he deserves."
Of course, Sullivan could feel a little upbeat about himself. His decision to mix things up ended with the Penguins' biggest -- but not best -- win to date. Derick Brassard played left wing on the top line and produced three assists. Chad Ruhwedel was hardly noticeable, which isn't a bad thing, but was solid at both ends. Derek Grant was strong on the puck and in the corners and had a team-high three hits.
THE BAD
We could go with Neal's seeing-eye, shutout-spoiling goal in the final two minutes. Or the fact that, despite their lopsided win, the Penguins surrendered 39 more shots. They're giving up an average of 36.4 per game, second most in the league. Or that the Flames out-possessed them by a wide 59-41 Corsi For in all situations.
Nah.
Matthew Tkachuk has the bloodlines and, by all accounts, is an honest, hard-nosed player. Could have fooled Kris Letang, though.
Midway through the first period, Letang engaged Tkachuk behind the play in one of your typical "hockey plays," where two players usually intentionally collide or jostle. Letang got an open mitt up around the face of Tkachuk but the 19-year-old crumpled like he'd been smacked in the face by a 2x4:
A younger Letang might have gone ballistic, but the 31-year-old version simply skated away. To be fair, referee Kyle Rehman was trailing the whole thing and kept his whistle quiet.
On a really bad night for the Flames, Tkachuk's dive was just embarrassing.
THE PLAY
What else? Crosby's latest jewel.
THE CALL
Bill Peters is a good coach. The Penguins saw that the previous four years when Peters' teams in Carolina, though undermanned, could give them fits.
However, Peters hung his goalie out to dry Thursday night. Smith was making his first start in six days and the 36-year-old was completely outplayed by Murray, giving up six goals on 21 shots. Not that David Rittich, the Czech goalie who the local fan base has been clamoring for, was much better. Rittich gave up three goals on 15 shots.
"Obviously, we're not happy," Smith fumed afterward. "It's easy to point and say, 'This was wrong and that was wrong.' We played a very good hockey team and, from me out, no one was very good. When that happens, it's just a recipe for disaster."
THE OTHER SIDE
The Flames entered this season as one of the more theoretically improved teams in the NHL. After missing the playoffs in 2017-18, they hired Peters from Carolina. They shelled out $28.75 million for Neal. And they added Noah Hanifin and Derek Ryan, two of Peters' former players from the Hurricanes.
But they stand at 5-5 after getting humbled by the Predators, turning in poor efforts against the Rangers and Canadiens and getting blown out by the Penguins. The Flames hadn't given up nine goals in a game since Jan. 5, 2012 against the Bruins.
Obviously, this latest loss didn't sit well with the Flames or their fans, who booed the team off the ice at the end of the second period.
"I'd be booing us too," Smith said. "They have the right to voice to their opinion. To be honest, if I was a fan, I'd be upset also."
THE INJURIES
• Justin Schultz, defenseman, (fractured left leg) is out four months.
• Brian Dumoulin, defenseman, was briefly hobbled by a blocked shot, but he didn't miss a shift.
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins are off Friday as they fly to Vancouver, where they’ll face the Canucks at Rogers Arena at 10:08 p.m. Saturday. After that, it's back home for the first time in more than a week.
