Sergei Murashov
CRANBERRY, Pa. –– What a difference a couple of days can make. One moment Sergei Murashov was lying down resting. A phone call changed everything. Now there’s a chance he will be in goal Thursday for the Pittsburgh Penguins when they face Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
Of course, there’s no guarantee Murashov will start against the Capitals, or whether it might be Arturs Silovs. But Murashov’s NHL debut is on the horizon now that Penguins veteran Tristan Jarry is injured, and he seems to have a pretty strong perspective about that.
It was after practice Tuesday with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League when his rest was interrupted in the best way – news that he was being promoted to the NHL.
“Grateful. I’m just grateful,” Murashov said after practicing with the Penguins Wednesday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
“You’re working. You’re just doing your thing. After practice you just lay on your bed and get a call. Grateful to be here.”
It was also Tuesday that Murashov, 21 and a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft, was named the AHL goaltender of the month for October. These numbers certainly seem to be deserving of a call-up with a spot open because of injury: 5-2-0, 1.73 goals-against average, .931 goals-against average and a shutout.
Murashov is widely considered to have a good chance at becoming the Penguins’ No. 1, if not franchise, goalie at some point.
Penguins coach Dan Muse said it hasn’t been determined when or how much or in what way Murashov will be used. Up until Jarry got hurt Monday during a start in Toronto, the team alternated Jarry and Silovs in a regimented platoon setup.
“That’s been the case to this point,” Muse said. “At no point did we say, ‘This is something we’re locked in and it has to be this way.’
“Like everything else, we’re constantly evaluating, we’re constantly looking at what his options are. We’re still having conversations. We’re having conversations with the coaching staff, conversations with (goalie coach) Andy Chiodo and the rest of the staff. We’re going to continue to have conversations, make decisions. And then those conversations will continue from game to game.”
Murashov downplayed his stats with Wilkes-Barre, but he did have a gauge for his performance over the first month of the season.
“My confidence always comes from what I’m doing, from the process, not from the results,” he said. “I think it was a really good process (in Wilkes-Barre). I say thanks to my team. They were all battling.”
He said the Penguins staff has not offered any guidance on when or how much he might play with Jarry out.
“It’s all about what’s going on now and staying in the moment,” he said. “No rush. We’ll go moment by moment, step by step.”
Those steps will almost assuredly lead to his first regular-season game after he appeared in the preseason.
“Right now I just have time to prepare for it. I’m doing everything I can do right now. When that day will come, we’ll see,” he said. “It’s definitely something you dream about from your childhood. But again, no rush. Just stay in the moment.”
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