Dunlap: There Is No Goaltender Discussion
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Where are these people coming from?
On which planet do they reside?
The talk is so, so bizarre that I'm starting to fear for their sanity just a little bit.
And I'm not talking about some run-of-the-mill Joe just spouting some puck opinion down at a bar in Brookline or Brentwood or Oakmont or Oakdale, either.
Not the opinion of some fella half-bent on Iron who wants to tell you all about how he could have starred in the Patrick Division because he once netted four goals in a junior high street hockey game as a master of that orange Mylec ball.
Nope.
Much-esteemed and entrenched hockey writers --- even some national ones, most notably the ultra-respected Kevin Allen from USAToday--- have started ringing that Marc-Andre Fleury bell. And not just ringing it, ringing it to the tune loudly and stridently that Fleury should get the start against the Capitals in Game 6 of the Penguins' playoff series against those boys from Washington.
Huh?
Excuse me?
Whaaaaaaaaat?
I'm just not seeing it. Not in the least. Not at all.
And neither did coach Mike Sullivan, who announced Monday afternoon that Matt Murray will indeed be the starting goaltender for Game 6 at Consol Energy Center Tuesday night.
For the life of me, I can't understand what goalie Matt Murray has done to even be considered as a guy who could lose his starting spot right now.
He's a man who has stood tall and beaten the Capitals three times this series.
Murray is a guy who has a .937 save percentage in the playoffs, which has to have surpassed just about any expectancy of him.
Murray is a guy who lost a game over the weekend against Washington to allow the Caps to pull within a 3-2 disadvantage in the series, but no one will ever be able to convince me that he was the reason --- or even one of the top handful of reasons --- that the Penguins faltered in Game 5.
You can go ahead and tell me all about Marc-Andre Fleury's 53 playoff wins or that time he hoisted that Stanley Cup high above his head.
If you must, remind me about those 700 NHL games that Fleury has played in.
Go ahead and come at me with how Fleury carried this team --- and he did --- through a decent portion of the regular season.
All those are points that are wonderfully made and taken.
But this is about the now, this is about who gives you the best chance at winning in the present.
And you know what? Fleury hasn't played in 38 days is what I will counter with. In those 38 days without him, this team has been playing some damn fine hockey.
To me, for the most part, this Murray v. Fleury thing isn't even a story.
It only becomes a story if Matt Murray plays his way out of the net for the Penguins; if he has a laugher of a game and buckles underneath this playoff pressure.
It is very obvious that hasn't happened yet.
If it does, then we can start the talk about Fleury getting his job back --- but until then, such talk seems to border on lunacy.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can email him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
