Murashov’s moment arrives | Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins weren’t necessarily expecting Murashov to come because he was in good shape at home in Russia. But Evgenii Peretrukhin, a close family friend who had helped the goalkeeper’s career in Russia, suggested he go to North America.

It worked well, and Murashov thrived under the Penguins. He compiled a 12-3 record with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, including a franchise-record 10-game winning streak for a rookie, and a 17-7-1 record with Wheeling of the ECHL.

This season, Murashov ranks fourth in the AHL in wins (5), third in goals per game (1.73) and fifth in save percentage (0.931).

Murashov earned AHL Goaltender of the Month honors before being recalled to the NHL for the first time in October.

“It was his dream, he always wanted to play in the NHL. When he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins, he was very happy,” said Peretrushin, who made a special trip to watch Murashov play.

“I was in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was 10 o’clock at night and I was going to bed. Sergey called me and said, ‘I want to see you here.'” So, I got up and went to the airport,” Peretrukhin said.

He ran into trouble flying from Newark to Pittsburgh because all flights were canceled, largely due to the government shutdown. So Peretrukhin ended up getting a car service and drove six hours to pick up Murashov.

“I slept for about two or three hours today because I was nervous. He was not. I saw him this morning and he was not nervous at all. He was smiling. He was happy,” Peletrushin said. “I said, ‘Sergey, do you remember when you left Russia? One day your dream will come true, and today is the day.'”

Murashov said the only time he was really nervous was when he was thinking about how to complete his rookie circle.

“The first few minutes, I was kind of getting used to the speed,” Murashov said. “But then, I feel like I’m just doing my thing. Trying to stop the puck and not think about anything. Just do my job, you know?”

“It’s all about preparing for the game. You build it up over the summer with practice, going into training camp, preparing for it, playing NHL games… Now that I’m here, it’s definitely not about today’s performance, but all the work I’ve done before.”

Before the game, Penguins head coach Dan Muse talked about how proactive and diligent Murashov is in his preparation, especially off the ice. On the ice, “He’s very competitive, athletic, always fighting off loose pucks, faceoffs and everything else,” Muth said.

Murashov displayed those qualities in many of his saves, with his best coming in the second period, a diving glove save on Quinton Byfield. He also had to perform well in penalty shootouts during that period. Unfortunately, the Kings fought back in the third quarter and turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead, which became the final score.