The Pittsburgh Penguins opted for the convenience factor again in the selection of their emergency goaltender for Game 3 in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Wednesday.
Convenience has been the theme so far in the Pittsburgh Penguins' first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers when it comes to the selection of the third goaltender for games. They recalled Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) goaltender Taylor Gauthier for the first two games of the series in Pittsburgh, since Wheeling is less than two hours from Pittsburgh.
And it appears they continued to roll with that same theme ahead of Game 3 in Philadelphia.
On Wednesday, the Penguins recalled young netminder Sergei Murashov from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins of the AHL, likely to serve as the team's emergency goaltender for Games 3 and 4. WBS is a little more than three hours from Philadelphia, as opposed to Wheeling being more than seven hours.
WBS has already clinched a first-round bye in the Calder Cup Playoffs, and their seeding is locked in.
Murashov, 21, has played in five NHL games this season, going 1-1-2 with an .897 save percentage and a 2.56 goals-against average. At the AHL level, he is 24-9-3 with a .919 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average.
He figures to be the third goaltender behind Stuart Skinner - who has earned his third-straight start - and Arturs Silovs, who was the backup in the Penguins' first two games, both of which they dropped to go down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 is Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET, while Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET.
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