With his team facing elimination, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has benched Matt Murray in favor of Tristan Jarry for today's Game 4 (4 p.m., ET, NBC Sports Network) against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens own a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Murray is a two-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie, but Jarry was an All-Star this season with a 21-12 record, 2.43 goals-against average and .921 save percentage. But Jarry has never played in an NHL playoff game.

Murray has a .921 career playoff save percentage, but has looked ordinary in the first three games against the Canadiens. He was in the net when the Canadiens erased a two-goal deficit to down the Penguins in Game 3.

Sullivan traditionally acts boldly with his goalies, like in 2016 when he used Murray over popular veteran Marc-Andre Fleury.

If the Penguins lose this series, they will have a 12.5% chance of winning the lottery and picking Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1.

One of the debates in Montreal is whether the franchise would be served if the Penguins come back to win this series. The Canadiens aren't considered strong enough to make an extended playoff run and a chance, even a minimal chance, of landing a French Canadian potential star like Lafreniere would be a major boost.

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