Penguins' Murray will start Game 1
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The Pittsburgh Penguins will start Matt Murray in Game 1 versus the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, head coach Mike Sullivan announced.
Coach Sullivan: "Matt Murray is going to play tonight. Then we'll take it from there."
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 12, 2017
Murray backstopped the Pens to the Stanley Cup last spring in his first taste of the NHL playoffs, but split the 2016-17 regular season with veteran Marc-Andre Fleury.
| Player | Starts | Record | GAA | Sv% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murray | 47 | 32-10-4 | 2.41 | .923 |
| Fleury | 34 | 18-10-7 | 3.02 | .909 |
Fleury only made one start last postseason, but is one of the club's leaders and could be riding out his final playoffs with the franchise as expansion looms.
In 21 postseason starts last year, Murray was phenomenal, posting a 15-6-2 record with a 2.08 goals-against average and .923 save percentage.