PITTSBURGH — Mike Sullivan already made one goalie switch this postseason.
He wasn’t going to make another.
“No,” the Penguins head coach said, when asked if he thought about pulling Matt Murray after the third goal in Thursday’s 4-2 loss to San Jose. “I thought Matt settled in as the game went on, just like our team.”
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To be fair, Murray had to settle in after making just four saves on seven shots in the opening frame. The general consensus is two of three goals surrendered were on the ‘tender — Brent Burns‘ opener just 64 seconds in, which went in short side, and Melker Karlsson‘s eventual game-winner, which fluttered through Murray’s arm.
Murray’s struggles were compounded by the fact his counterpart, San Jose’s Martin Jones, was brilliant.
[RELATED: Jones 'a stud' as he steals Game 5 for Sharks]
Jones stopped 44 of 46 shots on Thursday and easily claimed first star honors. Patric Hornqvist acknowledged that “he was hot,” while Justin Braun described the performance as “unbelievable.”
San Jose Sharks
Jones now has a .933 save percentage in the series, and is the main reason why we’re going back to San Jose for Game 6.
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