It worked out well, as Murashov thrived in the Penguins organization. He posted a 12-3 record with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, including a 10-game win streak that set a team rookie record, and a 17-7-1 record with Wheeling of the ECHL.
This season, Murashov ranks fourth in wins (5), third in goals-against average (1.73) and fifth in save percentage (.931) in the AHL this season.
Murashov earned AHL Goaltender of the Month honors in October, just prior to his first NHL recall.
“It was his dream, he always wanted to play in the NHL. He was very happy when he got drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins,” said Peretrukhin, who made the trip to watch Murashov play.
“I was in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was ten o’clock at night and I was going to bed. Sergei called me and said, ‘I want to see you here.’ So I got out of bed and went to the airport,” Peretrukhin said.
He had trouble flying from Newark to Pittsburgh as all flights were largely canceled due to the government shutdown. So Peretrukhin ended up getting a car service and drove six hours to get here for Murashov.
“I slept about two or three hours today because I was nervous. He wasn’t. I saw him this morning and he wasn’t nervous at all. He was smiling. He was happy,” Peretrukhin said. “And I said, ‘Remember, Sergei, when you left Russia? One day your dream will come true, and today is that day.'”
Murashov said the only time he really felt nerves was figuring out what to do for his rookie round.
“The first few minutes I had to get used to the speed a bit,” Murashov said. “But after that I felt like I was just doing my thing. Trying to stop the puck and not think about anything. I’m doing my job, you know?”
“It’s all about preparing for the game. You build it up by practicing, all summer long, going to camp, preparing for this, going to NHL games… now I’m here, and it’s definitely not about the performance today, it’s about all the work I did before.”
Before the game, Penguins head coach Dan Muse talked about how Murashov is extremely driven and diligent in terms of that preparation, especially off the ice. On the ice, “he is extremely competitive, athletic and always battling loose pucks, scrums and everything else,” Muse said.
Murashov made a number of saves that showed these qualities. His best save came in the second period, a diving glove save on Quinton Byfield. He also had to go big with the penalty kill during that period. Unfortunately, the Kings fought back in the third to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead, which was the final score.
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