Kevin Gorman's Take 5: For Penguins, everyone is a game-time decision

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – The Pittsburgh Penguins had an optional skate Friday at Nassau Coliseum, so the absence of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Patric Hornqvist, Brian Dumoulin and Kris Letang didn’t raise any eyebrows.

When Matt Murray did not participate, however, it begged an obvious question: Is he still starting in goal for Game 2 against the New York Islanders?

“All of our players are game-time decisions at this time of year,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

Goalies often are exceptions to that rule, and the first goalie off the ice is an indication that he’s going to start. Sullivan was determined not to tip his hand, even with his goalies.

“Never during the playoffs,” Sullivan said.

It made me wonder about game-time decisions, especially the timing of them. Sullivan made an important one on defense for Game 1, inserting Brian Dumoulin into the lineup and making Jack Johnson a healthy scratch.

That was a decision Sullivan said the Penguins coach staff discussed for a week, pondering the possibility of Dumoulin’s return and how to adjust the lineup.

“It all depends on the decision,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes, it takes longer than others, depending on the circumstance. We had anticipated that decision was going to be put in front of us and wanted to try to do our due diligence. We discussed all of our options and the pros and cons so that we could make the very best decision for our team.

“That’s why there was a lot of discussion amongst our coaching staff about that particular decision, but it all depends on circumstance. Some of them we deliberate longer than others. It depends on the situation.”

But the decisions aren’t told to players at game time, are they?

“They know well in advance,” Sullivan said.

It’s the rest of us who don’t find out until it’s almost game time.

Five things to watch for Game 2 of Penguins-Islanders:

1. Defensive pairings: Sullivan asserted that Johnson, who played every game in the regular-season, will be counted on by the Penguins at some point in the playoffs.

As long as everybody is healthy, the top pairing should be Dumoulin and Letang. The most effective pairing for Game 1 was Erik Gudbranson and Marcus Pettersson.

It’s possible the Penguins could pair Justin Schultz with Johnson instead of Olli Maatta, whose mistakes led to two goals in Game 1.

If the coaching staff justified that sitting Johnson was the right move in the first place, making a switch after only one playoff game would seem to be an overreaction to a player who has been a dependable playoff performer.

And it’s too early to press the panic button.

2. Sub-par to super: The 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders in Game 1 overshadowed an important storyline, as the Penguins got goals from Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin.

They ranked second and fourth, respectively, in points for the Penguins this season, as Kessel had 27 goals and 82 points and Malkin 21 goals and 72 points.

That was sub-par by their standards.

They from enigmas to energizers, as Kessel tied the game at 1-1 at 5:42 of the first period and Malkin added a power-play goal to tie it at 2-2 at 13:41 of the second period.

That was an important development for the Penguins, who relied too heavily upon their top line for scoring in the playoffs last year.

3. Strong support: Speaking of the second and third lines, their strong play was a positive for the Penguins.

Where the top line of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust went without a point, the Penguins drove possession with Dominik Simon and Patric Hornqvist.

That’s something to watch moving forward, as balanced scoring would give the Penguins a decided advantage, especially when they have home ice and the last shift.

4. Momentum swings: The Penguins pushed the idea of getting off to fast start, especially after they nearly gave up a Tom Kuhnhackl goal 33 seconds into Game 1.

Islanders coach Barry Trotz expressed concern about how quiet the Coliseum got in the second period, when the Penguins had momentum and the game was tied. That was evidence that the Islanders are feeding off their fans.

“We certainly had a lot of momentum in the second period,” Sullivan said. “We had a lot of high-quality grade-A chances that didn’t go in the net for us. Certainly that was a particular part of the game where I thought we had momentum.

“But playoff games, momentum is going to go both ways. That’s the reality of playoff hockey. Both teams on the ice are good teams. That’s why they’re still in it. We’ve just got to make sure when we don’t have momentum, we’ve got to try to minimize it and get it back as quickly as we can. When we have it, we’ve got to try to keep it and that’s a big part of it.”

5. Good in goal: Where Murray was solid in stopping 29 shots in Game 1, Islanders goalie Robin Lehner was even better in making 41 saves.

The two-goalie system has worked for the Islanders this season, so it will be interesting to see how long Trotz sticks with Lehner over Thomas Greiss and whether a change in net will work to the Penguins’ advantage or against them.

But the Penguins need Murray to outplay whoever is in goal for the Islanders.

Keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long.