Penguins to start goaltender Tristan Jarry in Game 4

With their season on the line, the Penguins will start goaltender Tristan Jarry for Friday’s Game 4 of their qualifying round series against the Montreal Canadiens in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.

Coach Mike Sullivan announced Jarry as his starter via video conference from Toronto but declined to get into specifics as to why the decision was made to replace incumbent starter Matt Murray.

Jarry will be making his postseason debut. During the regular season, Jarry appeared in 33 games and had a 20-12-1 record along with a 2.43 goals against average, a .921 save percentage and was selected for the NHL’s All-Star Game event in January.

In the first three games of the series, Murray had a 1-2 record along with a 2.50 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. During a 4-3 loss in Game 3 on Wednesday, Murray made 27 saves on 31 shots.

Jarry and Murray largely served as a platoon during the second half of the regular season.

The Canadiens have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series entering Game 4.

“We believe in the group that we have,” Sullivan said. “This group has accomplished an awful lot in their careers and they’ve been on both sides of it. They understand what’s stake. They know where we’re at. Now, we’ve just got to go out and play. We have to put our best game on the ice and they know that.”

Notes:

• Sullivan did not identify any other potential lineup changes.

• The Canadiens are expected to start franchise goaltender Carey Price. In three games this series, he has a 2-1 record along with a 2.19 goals against average and a .937 save percentage.

• Rookie forward Alex Belzile is expected to replace forward Jack Evans in the Canadiens’ lineup. In Game 3, Evans left the contest during the second period after suffering an apparent head injury.

• The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

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