Dallas called up goaltender Matt Murray and defenseman Derrick Pouliot from their AHL development affiliate.
As the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs begin, the Dallas Stars have added depth to their roster on defense and in goal. Defenseman Derrick Pouliot and goalie Matt Murray have both been called up from the AHL's Texas Stars, Dallas's development affiliate.
Murray, who made his NHL season debut with Dallas on January 8, will provide emergency backup behind Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood during the playoffs. The 26-year-old St. Albert, Alberta, native posted a 14-15-2 record for Texas this season with a 3.02 goals-against average and .896 save percentage and one shutout in 31 appearances. Over his career, he is 37-26-7 with a 2.60 GAA and .907 SV% and five shutouts in 71 games, all with Texas.
Murray was called up in January after an injury to Oettinger, stopping all 23 of the shots he faced in a 4-0 road shutout over the Minnesota Wild, earning his first career NHL shutout. He has appeared in four NHL games over two seasons, posting a 2-2-0 record, 2.53 GAA and .885 SV%.
The 30-year-old Pouliot concluded the 2023-24 AHL regular season leading Texas blueliners in goals (9), assists (37), and points (46). He ranked fourth in the AHL among defensemen in assists and points in 64 games.
Pouliot, a native of Estevan, Saskatchewan, made his NHL season debut with Dallas February 19 at Boston, logging 13:17 TOI with five blocked shots and four hits over five games.
Pouliot's call-up indicates that defenseman Jani Hakanpaa may not be quite ready to start the postseason coming off a lower-body injury.
"I would say it's probably a sign of availability (for Pouliot), especially for Game 1," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said at practice Saturday. "A little bit of insurance too. We've got guys around here... He's our seventh D for Game 1,and then we'll look at (Hakanpaa) going forward."
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