The case for Matt Murray

3:22 AM ET

TAMPA — Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan described his goaltending situation as imperfect.

It won’t get any easier.

With the Tampa Bay Lightning leading the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals 3-2, Sullivan has another difficult decision to make heading into Game 6 on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET) at Amalie Arena.

Should the Penguins stay with Game 5 starter Marc-Andre Fleury, or go back with rookie netminder Matt Murray, who has been solid the entire postseason?

When teams reach this point of the postseason, it’s only normal to focus on goaltending. A total of eight goalies have been used in both conference finals, and that number could increase as each series extends deeper. In the East, it was an interesting decision for the Penguins to go with Fleury, who hadn’t started a game since he suffered a concussion on March 31. He played the third period of Game 4 after the Lightning jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and he looked good in that 20 minutes of play, but his rust was evident and the Lightning finished with a 4-3 victory.

Sullivan and his staff decided to stick with Fleury for Game 5, and it ended in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Lightning. In fact, the Penguins held leads of 2-0 and 3-2 before the Lightning won in OT. Before the Penguins traveled here in preparation for Game 6, Sullivan said choosing between the two goaltenders would be a tough decision.

“We believe in the guys we have,” he said. “We think we have quality people. It’s an imperfect situation. All things considered, we’re trying to make the best decisions that we can that we think give …

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