Heading into the NHL Playoffs, the biggest question mark with the Pittsburgh Penguins roster is undoubtedly their goaltending.
Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner have been good enough to get the Penguins into the dance this season, but will they be good enough to steal a game or two in a series?
History says that the answer is actually yes.
Back in 2024, Silovs posted his first career shutout in a playoff game for the Vancouver Canucks. Meanwhile, Stuart Skinner was the starting netminder for an Oilers team that went to the Final in back-to-back seasons.
Today, the spotlight shines on a different goalie. Enter Sergei Murashov. At this point, it may be difficult to remember now, but in 2016, then-rookie Matt Murray made some heroic actions.
Murray filled in for an injured and, in some cases, underperforming Marc-Andre Fleury and did a wonderful job, helping the team lift the Stanley Cup.
Murashov, who is currently with the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, seems to be in a similar situation to Murray.
Resemblance in the Numbers
Before Fleury’s injury, Murray was in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, as Jeff Zatkoff was the NHL backup behind Fleury. As a 21-year-old, Murray won 20 of his 31 games in the AHL, good for a 64% win percentage. In Murashov’s age-21 season (he turned 22 on April 1st), he won 23 of his 36 games, a 64% win percentage.
Murashov was brought up to the NHL roster to serve as a backup for a game, with Stuart Skinner unable to go due to an eye injury. However, Murashov would not appear in the game, as Silovs would get the nod, and Murashov’s recall was merely to have a backup goalie.
However, Murashov does have NHL experience. Back in November, Murashov was recalled for a short stint and would make his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings. Murashov would stop 24 of 27 shots, but the Penguins suffered a 3-2 defeat. Now, let’s look at Murray’s NHL debut: 24 saves on 26 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Murashov’s 2025-26 AHL Season
This season is Murashov’s first full year with WBS, as he split time between them and the East Coast Hockey League’s Wheeling Nailers in 2024-25, and he has been nothing short of impressive.
His full record in his 36 appearances is 23-8-4, with three shutout wins. He has a save percentage of .918 and a goals-against average of just 2.24. Both of those marks rank in the top five among all goalies. Behind Murashov’s strong play, the WBS Penguins are 44-16-7 and will compete for the Calder Cup.
Murashov is more than just a goalie to point at and see Matt Murray in; he looks like a legit goaltender and the future between the pipes for Pittsburgh.
Murashov’s Short NHL Stint
As mentioned, Murashov has some, albeit very little, NHL experience. He appeared in five games for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, picking up his first career win in his second career start via a shutout against the Nashville Predators.
In total, in his five starts, Murashov went 1-1-2 and put up a save percentage of .897 with a goals against average of 2.56. Not exactly numbers that jump off the screen at you, but not terrible for a then-21-year-old getting his first taste of the big leagues.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, such as a major injury to either Silovs or Skinner, it’s unlikely that Murashov will get a taste of the NHL postseason in 2026. However, with Skinner not under contract for next season, Murashov could see consistent time with the NHL squad as soon as 2026-27.
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