Sullivan Still Weighing Difficult Goaltender Decision

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has a big decision ahead of him before Game 1 of the Qualifying Round against Montreal on Saturday: whether Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry will get the start in goal.

"It is a very difficult decision," Sullivan said on Wednesday. "These guys want the net, they're competitive guys and I understand that. The coaching staff will make the best decision in terms of what we think is best for the team.

"But we really like how both of these guys have tracked throughout the training camp to this point. We got one more opportunity to watch last night in the exhibition game. I thought they both played well. So the coaches will do their very best to put the best personnel group on the ice regardless of what the position is."

Murray played the first half of Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to Philadelphia. He saw a decent amount of action early on, as the Flyers outshot the Penguins 10-6 in the first period. And while the Flyers scored twice in that frame, there wasn't much Murray could do on either goal.

On their first goal, Sean Couturier deflected a turning shot off Marcus Pettersson's skate during a delayed penalty call on the Penguins. On their second goal, Evgeni Malkin turned it over right to Jake Voracek wide-open in the slot.

Apart from that, Murray made some strong saves - including stopping Voracek after he got behind the D on a broken play by stretching out his left pad. He finished with 10 saves on 12 shots.

"In terms of the sightlines, it was good just to see some traffic, some game-like scenarios," Murray said. "I thought the team did a really good job for the most part of keeping guys to the outside. I was able to feel the puck a little bit and see some traffic. It was good."

Jarry played the second half, and entered the game with 10:05 left in the second period - right as the Flyers got their first power play of the day. It was quite the welcome back into game action, but he did his part to help the Penguins kill it off. Jarry didn't see a ton of action as the Penguins tilted the ice in their favor for the third period, but things obviously opened up in overtime.

In the extra frame, Jarry made a tremendous stop to deny Kevin Hayes on a breakaway, but Scott Laughton won the game shortly after on an absolutely filthy snipe. Now the Penguins are in the midst of a stretch of three days off ahead of Game 1, and Jarry said the goaltenders plan on making the most of that time to continue working on their respective games.

"I think it's just taking it day-by-day and making sure our practice habits are staying where they need to be," Jarry said. "For Matt and I, it's just preparing like we both would be playing. Whoever gets the call on Saturday, we'll be ready."

PRACTICE UPDATE:Sullivan confirmed that the Penguins had full attendance at their practice, which took place at noon at Ford Performance Centre.