The blue paint is for skating, not swimming, Marc-Andre.

On Wednesday night, the Ottawa Senators torched Fleury with four first-period goals on only nine total shots on net, with the veteran goalie looking lost and out of position for the majority of his 12:52 of action.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, as a group, came out flat and two of the four goals came off plays that were arguably not Fleury's fault - Marc Methot's fluky goal and Derick Brassard's tap-in. But the bottom line is the Penguins need better goaltending if they want to come back in this series.

Matt Murray was pegged from Game 1 of this postseason as the Penguins' starting netminder, but due to a pregame lower-body injury suffered before the start of the Columbus series, his first taste of playoff action came last night.

Murray made 19 of 20 stops in just over 46 minutes of action in Fleury's relief, but he deserves to be in the crease for the full 60.

Here's a couple of reasons why Murray should start Game 4:

Wilting Flower

Fleury's last six games have been a roller-coaster ride of inconsistency.

Including the final three games of Pittsburgh's second-round series versus the Washington Capitals, Fleury has been both brilliant and brutal, with the bad performances outweighing the good.

Give the guy some credit for his two postseason shutouts against two formidable opponents. And sure, having Brian Dumoulin and Ron Hainsey as two of your top D-men certainly doesn't help.

But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how many guys named Sidney or Evgeni you have on your squad, giving up four-plus goals just cannot happen in the playoffs.

For comparison's sake: In his 15 playoff games this year, Fleury has given up four goals or more in five different contests. During his 21-game playoff run last season, Murray only did that twice.

Murray's earned it

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

If last year's 21-game showing wasn't impressive enough - Murray went 15-6 with a 2.08 goals-against average - don't forget it was capped off with a Stanley Cup ring. And, if not for another unreal postseason from No. 87, a Conn Smythe Trophy could have accompanied Lord Stanley on Murray's mantle.

The kid has earned the right to be Pittsburgh's go-to option in net.

Postseason aside, the 22-year-old also proved he has what it takes to get the job done during the regular season as well. Murray finished the 2016-17 campaign with a record of 32-10, four shutouts, and a goals-against average of 2.41 - Fleury's regular-season goals-against average was 3.02.

Regular season or playoffs, it really doesn't matter; Murray has proved that he is a winner. The only thing that Fleury has recently proved is that he is wildly inconsistent.

Numbers don't lie, but they also don't hide facts. And the fact remains that Murray has shown he has what it takes to be Pittsburgh's bona fide No.1 'tender.

Following Game 3, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said he and his coaching staff would sleep on the decision of who is to start Game 4.

But, if Sullivan and his staff are looking at the same numbers as we are, the decision in front of him shouldn't require more than a short nap to figure out.

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