The Pittsburgh Penguins’ decision to give rookie goaltender Matt Murray the start over veteran Marc-Andre Fleury in a must-win elimination game at Tampa Bay was a gamble, but it paid off.
On the eve of his 22nd birthday, Murray stopped 28 of 30 shots after he was benched for Fleury in Game 5. After the Lightning won it 4-3 in overtime, the Penguins shifted back to the youngster from the recently concussed Fleury. Murray helped his team win Game 6 by a 5-2 final and stave off elimination.
The goaltending change seemed to impact the Penguins for the first two periods, as they limited the Lightning to just 11 shots over 40 minutes. Pittsburgh also scored the first three goals of the game. Phil Kessel started the scoring at the 18:46 mark of the first on a 5-on-3 power play while Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman were in the box, two of Tampa’s best defensemen. Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby added to the Penguins lead in the second period.
Just when Tampa Bay seemed all but out of it, they sprang to life in the third period. They outshot the Penguins 20-8, and got two goals from Brian Boyle to make the score 3-2. It wasn’t enough, however. Bryan Rust scored the dagger with 2:08 left in the third when he beat Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy on a breakaway to add an insurance goal. He ended up stopping 29 of 33 shots for Tampa. Nick Bonino tacked on an empty net goal.
With the Pittsburgh victory, the Eastern Conference Finals series will go to the seven-game maximum. Whoever wins the next game, which will be held in Pittsburgh, will advance to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the winner of the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues.
The Lightning are hoping they will get another chance at the Cup after falling to the Chicago Blackhawks in the finals last season. Meanwhile, the Penguins are hoping to reach the finals for the first time since 2009, when they exacted vengeance on the Detroit Red Wings from the previous season. The two teams will be given 60 minutes and a sheet of ice to determine which will emerge victorious on Thursday, May 26.
