Pittsburgh Penguins' head coach Dan Muse held off on announcing his starting goaltender for Game 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers in Pittsburgh until gameday on Saturday.
In the days leading up to Game 1 of their first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins' head coach Dan Muse remained pretty coy about who would get the nod between the pipes to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs for his team.
And that finally became clear on gameday.
After Saturday's optional morning skate ahead of Game 1, Muse announced that Stuart Skinner would be the Penguins' starting goaltender for series opener in Pittsburgh at 8:00 p.m. ET later that evening. Skinner - like many others - did not take the ice for the optional skate, which was the initial indication that he would get the nod Saturday night.
"As I said [Friday], we have the benefit of two guys that have played great for us all year," Muse said. "So, we went through our process, and Skinner is starting."
There was a bit of uncertainty as to who would get the first nod between Skinner and Arturs Silovs, as both have fairly even in terms of sheer numbers. Skinner has an .888 save percentage on the season in comparison to Silovs's exact same .888, but since the Olympic break, Silovs owns an .871 save percentage in 13 appearances - well below his season percentage - while Skinner had a slightly better number at .884 over 14 appearances.
The Penguins have operated with a goaltender rotation all season long, and it surely isn't common practice to continue that into the postseason. However, Muse reiterated that they are taking things one day at a time when it comes to goaltending, lineups, and everything else in between.
"I've said it all year, [we] take things a game at a time. I think I'm not going to go anywhere past Game 1 on anything. That's not just in regards to [goaltending], that's into everything. We are focused solely on Game 1. That has been our focused as we've prepared. So, that's what I'll speak on here today."
In his career against the Flyers, Skinner is 5-1-2 with a 2.45 goals-against average to go along with a .913 save percentage, while Silovs - with more limited experience, as he is still a rookie - has posted a 1-0-1 record with a 1.92 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage versus Philadelphia.
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