The goaltending position in hockey is so vital to a team’s success. Playing just enough to win won’t suffice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as goaltenders must put in 110% effort to assist their team on Lord Stanley’s journey.
Both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to their young goaltenders to help carry them to the Stanley Cup Final. The Penguins are starting Matt Murray, who is in relief of regular starter Marc-Andre Fleury, while the Lightning are debuting Andrei Vasilevskiy after Ben Bishop’s early injury in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.
ECF Comes Down To Young Goaltenders
Both of the 21-year-old goaltenders are being heavily observed to see their capabilities to battle in such an intense scenario. It’s not common to see goaltenders who haven’t played more than 30 games in a season lead their team to the Stanley Cup Final, but it’s been done before with Cam Ward and the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes. But which can lead their team to victory?
Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy boasted 25 saves on 26 shots, including 16 saves in the third period alone, against the Penguins in relief of Ben Bishop. Bishop is day-to-day with a lower body injury after he apparently “tweaked” his knee at the seven minute mark in Game 1, which gave the spotlight to Vasilevskiy. In only his second game this postseason, he was able to shut down the Penguins and give his injury plagued team confidence that they can battle through harsh conditions.
There’s no actual date set for Bishop to return, but Lightning head coach John Cooper hasn’t ruled him out completely for Game 2. The safest bet would be that Vasilevskiy starts again, as he relieved the Lightning in phenomenal fashion in Game 1. But the big question is, can he pull through even though he’s only seen ice in six career playoff games?
Murray
Matt Murray has been more than remarkable this postseason. He’s boasted an astonishing 7-3-1 record with a 2.15 goals against average and a .929 save percentage. There’s no doubt that he’s in the talk of a Conn Smythe Trophy if he can lead his team to the Cup, but that’s just speculation. The rookie was able to put a halt to the President’s Trophy-winning Washington Capitals as well as the resilient New York Rangers.
Disregarding Murray’s Game 1 loss where he debuted a .850 save percentage, saving 17 of the 20 shots against, he’s been able to deny teams and give his squad momentum when it’s most important. He definitely has the advantage on Vasilevskiy with the experience, considering he’s played during the entire postseason for the Penguins.
Overall, it’s safe to say that these young stars will have to rise to the occasion and refuse to suffice with anything less than success. Murray has done such during the course of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he’s not going to let one game take away the spotlight. His advantage over Vasilevskiy is quite large considering Murray has been the Penguins number one goalie since the first round, while Vasilevskiy has been a mere bystander due to Bishop’s dominance
No matter which direction this series goes, a lot of credibility is on the goaltenders. Both Murray and Vasilevskiy are going to be pushed to their breaking points, and that’s where heroes are born. There’s a lot of hockey left to be played, but only one of these goaltenders can contend in the Stanley Cup Final.
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