The Eastern Conference Finals has taken an unexpected twist as the two best teams in the conference, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Lightning, are being led by backup goaltenders. Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy are both 21 years old and only a few wins from reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. The two young netminders have similar play styles, being butterfly goalies who stand tall at 6’4” and 6’3” respectively. As unlikely as it may have seen in October, the two goaltenders who couldn’t even drink celebratory champagne a year ago are one step away from the Stanley Cup.
Vasilevskiy vs. Murray
Andrei Vasilevskiy grew up in Tyumen, Russia. His father, also named Andrei, was a goaltender in the highest Soviet hockey league in the early 80s and played until the the early 2000s. He is currently a goaltending coach in the MHL, a junior hockey league in Russia. He coached his son for four of those years, from 2009 to 2013. In 2012, Vasilevskiy was drafted 19th overall by the Lightning and was later signed in 2014. He was sent to the Syracuse Crush, Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate. He served as the backup to Kristers Gudļevskis, who is the highest Latvian to ever be drafted into the NHL. Vasilevskiy posted a 2.45 GAA in his 25 games he played in the AHL, while Gudlevskis had a 2.81 GAA in 46 games. He officially passed Gudlevskis when he replaced an ailing Ben Bishop in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals last year. The situation is eerily similar this year, as Ben Bishop went down in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals with an apparent leg injury. Vasilevskiy came in and shut down the Pittsburgh Penguins, making 25 saves on 26 shots. Bishop is technically considered day-to-day, but many believe he will be out for the rest of the series and most likely the playoffs.
On the other end is Matt Murray, the Canadian who was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Murray played for the Sault St Marie Greyhounds, a team in the Ontario Hockey League. He was drafted 83rd overall by the Penguins in 2012 and was later signed to a contract in 2013. Murray was sent to the Penguins AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton where he eventually started in the 14/15 season. That year, he posted a phenomenal 1.58 GAA in 40 games played. After the departure of Thomas Greiss, Murray became the official backup goaltender. He played only 13 games in the regular season, winning 9 of them. When Penguins starter Marc Andre Fleury suffered from a concussion on March 31st, Murray was in. He has been lights out in the 2016 playoffs, winning 8 of his 11 games played. He will most certainly be the starter for the rest of the playoffs, barring a disastrous performance or an injury.
The two amateur goaltenders facing goal-scorers by the names of Sidney Crosby and Tyler Johnson seems almost unfair, yet through two games the two have stolen the show and held their ground. With the series currently split at one game a piece, everything seems to hinge on the performance of the two goalies.
*All stats taken from NHL.com
