"In the Washington series, I thought we played two good games as a team," Rutherford said. "If it wasn't for our goaltending, we wouldn't have won the series."
Leading up to the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline on March 1, Fleury's future in Pittsburgh was in doubt, despite Rutherford's continued claims he hoped to retain him and Murray. The GM first made that claim when training camp opened in September, but the rumors continued.
The deadline passed with Fleury continuing to sit on the bench, backing up Murray.
"No victory laps," Rutherford said. "I never changed my position from the start of camp. I never wavered on it. I had some calls during the season asking about him. Those conversations didn't go very far."
Before the deadline, Fleury had started six games since Dec. 31. After making 28 saves in a 6-2 home win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 8, he did not start at PPG Paints Arena again until Feb. 16, when he made 44 saves against the Winnipeg Jets.
Fleury had three starts from Jan. 14-Feb. 11 and allowed a combined 10 goals in two of them (six goals to the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 14 and four to the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 11).
RELATED: [Complete Penguins vs. Senators series coverage]
"When he's playing a lot of games, that's when he plays his best," Rutherford said. "During the regular season, when they got into the point where they were splitting the bit and one guy played five in a row then the other guy played, that's a tougher situation for him. It's not something that he's used to."
Meanwhile, Murray thrived. He was 32-10-4 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in his first full NHL season, so Fleury sat behind his protégé and watched his starting role become a not-so-distant memory.
"I know there were times during the season where it became a little more difficult for the coaching staff and for the goalies because they both want to play," Rutherford said. "When they were both healthy, it didn't work ideally because one guy maybe sat a little longer than he wanted. But as it turns out, it's worked good for both guys."
Fleury never complained. He didn't last year, when he backed up Murray in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after sustaining two concussions in the regular season and the Penguins won the championship.
"I can't be happier for Marc," Rutherford said, "because to me, he is one of the best team players in all of sports. To see how he handled the situation and ultimately, how he's played in these two rounds, I couldn't be happier."
Now Murray temporarily has surrendered his role because of an untimely injury. He plans to handle this situation the same way his mentor would.
"Knowing when to give him a pat on the back, I guess, and then knowing when to stay out of his way," Murray said. "It's just kind of mental support, like everything [Fleury] did for me last year."
