Matt Murray's miracle run could have been through.
Fifty seconds prior to the horn sounding to end the first period, and after his team jumped out to a two-goal lead with a furious start that appropriately reflected the urgency sewn through Game 2, the Penguins netminder let a Jonathan Drouin snapper from just inside the right circle slip under his arm, erasing Pittsburgh's early lead.
Head coach Mike Sullivan finally had reason to turn to one of the NHL's best goalies and a former Stanley Cup champion in Marc-Andre Fleury - and he would prompt the long-time starter to be ready - but triggering the swap would have meant neglecting one of the aspects he admires most about the emergent 21-year-old.
"What we've always really liked about Matt is his ability to respond when things don't go the way he wants them to go or expects them to go," Sullivan said in his post-game presser. "He always responded in such a positive way, and that's - you know, that's one of the things we really like about him, and that's what he did."
Murray admitted that he was still "fighting it" throughout, but was able to make a few important stops after his coach entrusted him with the second period, eventually leading Pittsburgh to a split on home ice.
"You're going to have those kind of nights. I kind of battled through it mentally and I thought I made a couple of big saves when I needed to."
He needed to make just 13 through the final two periods and into overtime, but his saves weren't cheap. His most important stop came with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second period, when he got the blocker down on a snap shot from Alex Killorn, who dug out a breakaway opportunity down right wing.
"It could have been a game changer," Sullivan admitted of the key moment.
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