Pittsburgh Penguins netminder Matt Murray will start in goal Saturday for Game 1 versus the Montreal Canadiens, the team announced.
Murray and Tristan Jarry shared starts all season long, and although Jarry posted better stats, Pittsburgh is turning to Murray due to his playoff resume.
"Matt has shown an ability to be at his best when the stakes are high, and that should provide some confidence going into a playoff environment like this. We'll take each game as it comes but we feel good about the goaltending tandem we have," head coach Mike Sullivan said.
Murray backstopped the Penguins to a Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017, and owns a .921 save percentage across 48 postseason appearances. The Penguins are hopeful he can rekindle his vintage playoff form, as Murray struggled with an .899 save percentage in 38 games over the regular season.
Jarry, on the other hand, posted a .921 save percentage in 33 starts in 2019-20, but has never appeared in a playoff game.
The Penguins-Canadiens best-of-five series begins at 8:00 p.m ET.
Copyright © 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.