In the dying seconds of the first period of Game 4, the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender was bumped by teammate Brian Dumoulin behind the net.
The defenseman's shoulder appeared to catch his netminder in the mask, which is significant considering Murray was not available to begin the postseason due to a suspected head injury.
However, he was able to return for the start of the second period.
Murray is appearing in his 13th playoff game, matching his career regular-season total.
— Jeremy Houghtaling (@JGHoughtaling) May 20, 2016
While he was listed in the official lineup, he wasn't on the bench at puck drop. He did emerge shortly thereafter, with some extra equipment protecting his face.
Johnson recorded five goals and nine assists in 13 playoff games.
Shawn Michaels is quickly crossing over from wrestling legend to hockey lore.
The former WWE superstar - who will attend Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final in Pittsburgh - opened Sportsnet's coverage of Game 4 in Tampa Bay with a personal message from his home, followed by a montage set to his old "Sexy Boy" intro music.
Michaels, of course, became linked to the Penguins by way of the red-hot line of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino, and Phil Kessel, dubbed 'HBK', synonymous with his Heartbreak Kid nickname.
The decision comes in the wake of two consecutive losses, in which St. Louis was outscored 7-0.
Surely the Blues' struggles can't be pinned on Brian Elliott, as their offensive unit has gone missing through three games, but Hitchcock is hoping his team can build momentum off of the switch.
In 17 starts this postseason, Elliott has posted a 9-8 record with a 2.34 goals against average, and a strong .925 save percentage. Allen's made two appearances in relief, but has only faced nine shots.
However, Allen started 44 regular season games to Elliott's 38, and compiled a record of 26-15-3, stopping pucks at a 92 percent clip with a goals against average of 2.35.
Allen has started six postseason games in his career, going 2-4.
Now that the decision has been made, it's up to the team in front of Allen to even the series Saturday night. Scoring a goal might help.
Matt Murray is about to have as much playoff as regular-season experience.
With a start in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Pittsburgh Penguins rookie goalie will have an equal number of games played in both formats, with impressive numbers to boot.
Games
Record
Save %
GAA
Shutouts
Regular Season
13
9-2-1
.930
2.00
1
Playoffs
12
9-3-0
.928
2.13
1
The 2012 third-round pick was thrust into the fire in light of an injury to longtime No.1 option Marc-Andre Fleury, and has more than held his own.
He's played so well, in fact, that general manager Jim Rutherford was forced to address Fleury's long-term standing with the club, and it's expected Murray will certainly add to his regular-season resume in 2016-17.
For now, he'll keep building the postseason legend, with another round quite possibly on tap.
Already without Steven Stamkos, the Tampa Bay Lightning simply can't survive if the offensively gifted Russian forward doesn't find his game, and soon.
Kucherov, who led the playoffs in goals through two rounds, has been held without one in the Eastern Conference final, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are also doing a fine job of limiting his shots.
Round
Opponent
Games
Goals
Assists
Shots/Game
1
Red Wings
5
5
3
3
2
Islanders
5
4
0
4.4
3
Penguins
3
0
2
2
Nikita Kucherov (TB): 0 goals in series..hadn’t gone longer than 1 game without a goal this postseason prior.
"I've got to be better," Kucherov said Thursday. "Everybody's got to be better."
True, the Lightning as a group have faltered over the past two games against the Penguins, affording Pittsburgh a bevy of transition opportunities off turnovers.
But it was Kucherov who led the team in scoring with 66 points in 77 regular seasons games, and who appeared on the verge of super stardom through the first two rounds of the postseason.
Since the beginning of 2014-15, and including the playoffs, only seven players have scored more than Kucherov's 78 (according to Corsica Hockey). In order for the Lightning to even the series and return to the Stanley Cup Final, they'll need him to add to that total, ideally beginning in Game 4 on home ice.
MOSCOW - The roads to the semifinal have been very different for Canada and the United States at the world hockey championship.
The Canadians bulldozed their way through most of the preliminary round, posting a 6-0-0-1 record to finish second...
An underwhelming return for one of the most consistent scorers in the post-lockout era was further curtailed when the Pittsburgh Penguins advanced into the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, slotting themselves into bottom-four position on the NHL draft board.
But for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who based on last season's stat sheet so desperately needed to add, not subtract players of Phil Kessel's grade, the decision to extricate the offensive dynamo from their refurbishing structure shouldn't be one that's second-guessed.
There are myriad reasons why the introverted sniper is the perfect fit for these Penguins, not the Maple Leafs.
Role
Kessel never failed in his function with Toronto. Five players scored more goals and only 15 racked up more points league-wide during his six seasons. He was paid to be an elite scorer and provided, in turn, apposite contributions.
Of course he wasn't without limitations. At his core Kessel remains an instinctive, one-dimensional attacking force, and a player suited to provide intermittent shocks to the system and hone in on defensive lapses, not spearhead a complete, responsible, dogged team effort. To put it in baseball terms, he's a changeup. So when the Leafs catered their entire scheme around this incomparable $8-million entity - or relied exclusively on the off-speed pitch - well, the opposition wasn't fooled by the offering.
Enter the Penguins, who have an enduring identity focused around one of the game's great players in Sidney Crosby, a championship pillar, a proven entity, and a leader at a premium position that isn't quite as readily neutralized by the opposition's top defenders.
But then, and even with Evgeni Malkin, team defenses are too good for opposing offenses to attack without multiple weapons in the arsenal. In Kessel, whose meshed wonderfully with two other new additions in Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh boasts a blazing-fast, exceedingly-dynamic unintentional auxiliary unit - a trio really unlike anything in the league - for second- and third-tier defenders to fail in their attempts to game plan for.
And best of all, Kessel no longer has the face-of-the-franchise price tag; Toronto slashed that down by 15 percent.
Fit
Kessel's current situation was, and remains, an impossibility in Toronto.
But let's say the Leafs had hung on, allowing Mike Babcock the opportunity to shape the polarizing winger. Would the 25 goals and 60 points he would have ostensibly accounted for have been worth jeopardizing the chance to draft the No. 1 center they hope can anchor a title winner?
Besides that, the money, the previous acrimony, shortcuts remaining taboo, and the fact that all their top prospects are similarly offensive-minded, though, are reasons Kessel's career arc simply doesn't jibe with the Maple Leafs' timeline.
Auston Matthews (or Patrik Laine) may incrementally speed up the process, but the fact of the matter is that the Leafs are still cleaning out the attic, not competing for a championship.
If we're willing to give them a generous three-to-five-year window to compete, could they have counted on Kessel - who will have 10 years on his NHL body before the most cornerstone prospects burn an entry-level season - to still have the jump needed to gallop past Victor Hedman like he did in Game 3?
For the rebuild to work, Toronto's prospects must grow together, not fill in behind and needlessly waste what remains in the tank of one of the game's premier scorers. And one who finally has a vehicle to put those distinctive talents to use.
Pavel Datsyuk's agent says his client hasn't agreed to play for SKA St. Petersburg.
Russian publication Sportfakt reported Friday that the 37-year-old Detroit Red Wings forward agreed to a two-year pre-agreement with the KHL club, which would likely be finalized after the ongoing World Championship.
Dan Milstein, Datsyuk's representative, told Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News that the report is inaccurate, and Datsyuk hasn't spoken to any other teams or members of the media.
Milstein expects Datsyuk and the Red Wings to discuss his future in mid-June, after the veteran returns from the tournament.
Datsyuk has one year left on his NHL contract at a cap hit of $7.5 million, a figure the Red Wings would still be responsible for because that deal was signed after he turned 35.
