CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A day after making 24 saves in a 7-0 shutout win over the Flyers in Game 1 of the Penguins' first-round series, Matt Murray was not at practice. And neither was Olli Maatta.
Don't worry, the Penguins' depth -- or lack thereof -- at both goaltender and defense aren't about to get tested.
Mike Sullivan said after Thursday's practice at the Lemieux Sports Complex that Murray and Maatta had been given maintenance days.
With his virtuoso performance against the Flyers, Murray extended his playoff shutout streak to 206:26, a franchise record. The last postseason goal he allowed was to Viktor Arvidsson in the second period of a 4-1 loss at Nashville in Game 4 of last year's Stanley Cup Final on June 5, 2017.
Coming off the concussion that sidelined him most of March, Murray was inconsistent in his eight starts following his return. Going into Wednesday night's game there were legitimate questions about whether he could regain the form that helped the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup championships the past two springs.
Needless to say, Murray put many of those concerns to rest in Game 1, particularly after this save on Scott Laughton:
Murray, who missed significant time this season due to injury and personal reasons, is the clear No. 1 goalie in the playoffs for the first time and he showed why again on Wednesday.
Not that it came to any surprise to Sullivan. The coach said that his goalie's resiliency and ability to block out distractions is what has set him apart.
"It’s just such an important position, it’s arguably the most important position in all of sport," the coach said. "When your goalie makes the timely save for you, as Matt has done time and time again, it gives our team a level of confidence to play in front of him.
"He’s still a young guy. He’s an accomplished player for as young as he is, but he has a maturity beyond his years. He’s shown that from day one of his very first game in the NHL. He has a certain resilience about him, a certain mental toughness that’s able to move by goals that he thought he should have had or if things don't go his way. He tends to respond the right way and it’s a great attribute to have as an athlete and more specifically as a goaltender because it’s such an important position."
• During Thursday's practice, Casey DeSmith manned one net while Mike Chiasson, a goaltending development coach at the Lemieux Sports Complex, manned the other.
• All other players were on the ice for Thursday's half-hour long session in Cranberry.
• The Penguins did some video work beforehand, according to Sullivan.
"We looked at ways we could get better, areas where we thought we had success, we tried to show them that, and now we’ve got to reset our mindset and just be ready for Game 2," he said. "We know it’s going to be a tough challenge. They’re a good hockey team and we will respond appropriately."
• With Maatta missing, Matt Hunwick worked with Justin Schultz on the second defense pair.
• With the exception of Hunwick in for Maatta, the lines and pairs the Penguins used Thursday were the same as they've been:
Guentzel - Crosby - Rust
Hagelin - Malkin - Hornqvist
Sheary - Brassard - Kessel
Aston-Reese - Sheahan - Kuhnhackl
Dumoulin - Letang
Hunwick - Schultz
Oleksiak - Ruhwedel
• Hunwick also worked on the second power play unit in place of Maatta.
• So what did Zach Aston-Reese do after playing the first NHL playoff game of his career? Watch more NHL games, of course. The rookie said he watched the Kings-Knights game as well as Wild-Jets. What stood out to him was the physicality in both those series openers.
"I think there were some big hits in our game, but I think moving forward it's going to get a lot more physical," he predicted.
• Sullivan was quite pleased with his team's 24 blocked shots, a team-high six of them from Chad Ruhwedel. The Penguins had gotten away from that area in the final weeks of the regular season, but the playoffs bring out another level of urgency, Sullivan said.
"I think it just boils down to commitment and doing what it takes to win and that’s playoff hockey," he said. "It's making sure that you pay attention to details, that you have a willingness to do the little things, the thankless jobs that add up to big things."
• Obviously the Penguins were satisfied with their penalty kill after shutting down the Flyers on four chances and not allowing a single shot against. Sullivan expects that the Flyers will make some changes to give his team a different look.
"There’s always going to be that give and take, there’s going to be those little adjustments on both sides, that’s part of playoff hockey," he said. "Our coaching staff, we’ll have our antennas up."
QUOTABLE
"I thought he had a real strong game for us. He was noticeable in the right areas of the rink. He was active in the rush at the right time. He wasn’t forcing it when it wasn’t there, but when the opportunities presented themselves I thought Tanger did a great job recognizing them and jumping in the offense. That’s when Tanger is at his best." -- Sullivan's assessment of Kris Letang's Game 1 performance, plus-4 with an assist.
BY THE NUMBER
9: Number of Penguins forwards to record at least one point in Game 1. Only Zach Aston-Reese, Tom Kuhnhackl and Phil Kessel did not.