{"id":186802,"date":"2026-05-08T02:38:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T02:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/186802\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T02:38:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T02:38:28","slug":"murashov-stops-37-wbs-penguins-win-series-playoff-run-goes-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/186802\/","title":{"rendered":"Murashov Stops 37; WBS Penguins WIN Series, Playoff Run Goes On"},"content":{"rendered":"

HERSHEY, Pa. \u2014 It has been 10 years since the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton Penguins<\/a> last won a playoff series. In fact, the last time they advanced to a second round, Jake Guentzel was fresh from college, but that decade long drought is over as the WBS Penguins beat the Hershey Bears 4-1 at Giant Center Thursday in Game 4 of their best of five series. <\/p>\n

The Penguins won the series 3-1, though it was far from pretty, crisp, or anything resembling their best. However, Penguins goalie Sergei Murashov <\/a>made no less than a handful of brilliant saves, including a sprawling save on Ilya Protas in the final minutes to preserve the win. He stopped 37 of 38 shots. <\/p>\n

Avery Hayes scored the empty netter with 31 seconds remaining. <\/p>\n

For those missing the Penguins-Capitals rivalry, Hershey is the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals and featured several prospects, including Ilya Protas, Andrew Cristall, and Ivan Miroshnichenko. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Penguins had more than their share of prospects in the lineup. Rutger McGroarty<\/a>, Ville Koivunen, Avery Hayes<\/a>, Tristan Broz, Mikhail Ilyin, Owen Pickering, Harrison Brunicke, and goalie Sergei Murashov led the 2026-27 Pittsburgh hopefuls. <\/p>\n

The game was a slog for both sides, with far too many turnovers, blown spots, and more missed connections than the personal pages of Craig\u2019s List. However, early in the third period and with a 2-1 lead, WBS put the wrapper on Chocolate City\u2019s season. <\/p>\n

Broz led a three-on-two. After Hershey\u2019s defensemen slid to the right wing to cover Broz, he slipped a pass to Ilyin, who was at full speed in the left circle. However, instead of shooting as everyone, including goalie Clay Stevenson, expected. The Penguins\u2019 2023 fifth-round pick fooled everyone with a deft pass to Koivunen alone in the slot. <\/p>\n

Koivunen (1) easily buried his shot into a yawning cage at 3:33 of the third for a 3-1 lead. Ilyin, 21, had three points (1-2-3) in the series and was playing in just his ninth game in North America since arriving from the KHL just a few weeks ago. <\/p>\n

The Penguins put the game away in the third period with their best hockey of the game, despite that being a low bar. <\/p>\n

While the first shift was a game of hot potato with the puck in the neutral zone, the Penguins struck on the second shift. <\/p>\n

Penguins prospect Tanner Howe (2024 second-round pick, 44th overall) couldn\u2019t find the headman pass that would have sent him on a breakaway. Instead, he turned his miss into a forecheck and Hershey turnover. Howe set up Joona Koppanen (1) who swept into the slot and backhanded a shot past Hershey goalie Clay Stevenson at 1:15 of the first period. <\/p>\n

The Penguins held the lead for over 18 minutes, but Boko Imama got a little carried away by the extra-legal physicality and boarded Hershey defenseman Ryan Chesley near the benches. After Murashov couldn\u2019t hold the original shot, Miroshnichenko (2) poked a loose puck from the crease into the net for a tie game, 1-1 at 19:55 of the first. <\/p>\n

The teams squared up at the red line to end the period, but threw no punches.<\/p>\n

The Penguins claimed the lead for good early in the second period at the end of a wild sequence. On a Hershey power play, the Penguins\u2019 penalty kill got far too aggressive on an odd-man rush. They failed to get a shot or hold the puck, and Hershey countered with a three-on-one break. <\/p>\n

In the turning point of the game, Hershey hit the post, and the Penguins countered that counter with a two-on-one. Stevenson stopped Hayes\u2019s first shot, but Brunicke (1) had finished the rebound at 6:20 of the second. <\/p>\n

The goal did little to settle the game, but it gave the Penguins a lead they did not relinquish. <\/p>\n

It was the Penguins\u2019 first series win since that prospect laden roster of 2015-16. The names from back then still echo in the Penguins\u2019 ether, including Teddy Blueger, Dominik Simon, and Guentzel, with goaltenders Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: sergei murashov<\/a> wbs penguins<\/a> <\/p>\n

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