Don't know if Murray had physical issue or not. Certainly possible but I think he clearly had some Mental fatigue with everything he has gone through.
-Going through 2 Cup runs prior to this year
-Going through the Murray/Fluery debates, comparisons, losing a mentor, etc..
-Losing his father towards end of year. Let's remember he is 23. Yes he is a professional but that is young to lose your father.
Just seemed like he was a bit awkward on some stops he made and was not as fluid in the net. I'd defer to goalieman who is he resident expert on goal tending but that was my observation.
GREAT run by the Pens ...... they just didn't have quite enough this year, but their heads should be held high and they should be congratulated for what they have accomplished the last few years KUDOS !
Regarding Murray, I don't think many would doubt that he had a mediocre year both in the regular season and playoffs ..... probably several factors IMO .....
- Injuries seemed to set him back ..... concussion, lower body injury (I believe a groin injury during the regular season), and others .....
- His father passing seemed to be devastating to him and may well have affected his play .....
- I thought that he was not as technically sound this year as the last two years ...... his forte previously was good angles/positioning and he was able to track pucks, read the play, and move quickly and fluidly and I thought he wasn't quite as sharp in that regard this season ...... his glove hand was definitely a problem. Teams look at tape, see weaknesses, and go after them ...... during the regular season, there was a time when he was giving up 6 and 7 hole goals, which can be from problems with stick and glove positioning ..... rebound control was not always quite as good ......
Look at Game 5 against the Caps ..... on the 2nd goal, he didn't close the 5 hole, on the 3rd goal which was a high scoring chance/tough save situation breakaway, he didn't play it as well as he could have, on the 4th goal, he was badly out of position and in Game 6, the soft goal when he didn't seal off the post ...... all technical problems to me but somewhat of a microcosm of the season..... advanced stats showed that he gave up too many soft goals.
Sometimes he played breakaways perfectly and other times not as well..... needs to be a little more consistent.
- What can he do this off season ? ......
Just my opinion but I'd like to see him get a little stronger ..... may help to prevent some injuries, help with his movement, and may help him with all the physical contact and congestion around the net.
As far as dealing with his father's passing, hopefully tincture of time will help.
The biggest thing IMO would be to just go back to the basics and work hard on them ..... angles/positioning, movement, get the glove hand problems improved, work on closing the 5, 6,and 7 holes, blocker, stick, pad saves, rebound control, breakaways, playing the puck outside the net, etc. ....go back to basic technique on these and try to improve all.
If Murray works hard on his game and stays healthy, I expect him to have a great year next season ...... he has the ability.