The Pittsburgh Penguins may be struggling at the NHL level, but they have two promising goaltending prospects waiting in the wings and dominating the AHL
It was yet another successful slate of games last weekend for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins, who can't seem to stop collecting points.
And two young Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltending prospects have been leading the way for the WBS Penguins - as well as the AHL as a whole.
Young netminder Sergei Murashov earned wins on Friday and Sunday, while Joel Blomqvist was the standout in a 3-2 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday, as he stopped 32 of 35 Hartford shots on goal. Murashov and Blomqvist have combined to make a formidable tandem for WBS this season, and their play has elevated an already-talented team.
Murashov, 21, has simply continued to dominate the AHL level. He leads the AHL in both save percentage (.943) and goals-against average (1.55), and he is 10-2-0 with two shutouts. His latest performance on Sunday - a 3-1 win over the Hershey Bears - featured 26 saves on 27 shots, including 14 in the first period alone.
And back on Dec. 10, Murashov made 20 saves in the first period en route to a 3-0 shutout victory against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
As has been mentioned many times before, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound netminder has dominated every level of professional hockey he's played at, and his video game-esque numbers this season are showing that his full-time NHL arrival is not far off. He does have five NHL games under his belt this season, posting a 1-1-2 record with an .897 save percentage and a 2.56 goals-against average.
Crosby Reaches Milestone For Second Consecutive Game
The big milestone may have come for <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' captain Sidney Crosby on Sunday against the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens">Montreal Canadiens</a>, when he surpassed Mario Lemieux <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/breaking-sidney-crosby-breaks-mario-lemieux-s-franchise-record-to-become-penguins-all-time-leader-in-points">to become the Penguins' all-time leader in points</a>.
As for Blomqvist? Well, after an injury caused him to miss most of training camp and the first month and a half of the AHL season, he has gotten off to a great start.
In eight games, he is 5-2-1 with a .935 save percentage and a 1.81 goals-against average. Aside from one start on Nov. 29 - when he allowed four goals on 12 shots - he has only had a save percentage below .930 in a game one time.
This is impressive stuff from the 23-year-old, who debuted with the Penguins last season to some mixed results. He started off well in his first stint with the NHL club, posting a .903 save percentage across eight appearances, but his second stint didn't go nearly as well. Overall, he had an .885 save percentage and a 3.81 goals-against average.
The results that the Penguins are getting from these two youngsters in WBS is a very encouraging sign, especially for a team that just traded its No. 1 goaltender to the Edmonton Oilers in Tristan Jarry. The NHL club is giving Stuart Skinner - who the Penguins acquired in that trade - and Arturs Silovs some runway to prove themselves, but with the team in freefall, it stands to reason that at least one of them could have a relatively short leash.
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Silovs has struggled in recent games, posting an .815 save percentage over his last six appearances. Skinner has an .831 save percentage in three starts with the Penguins so far. In other words, neither has done a particularly stellar job up to this point to suggest that they can become starters at the NHL level.
Murashov has the quickness, athleticism, calmness, and confidence for a pretty high NHL ceiling, and many believe he can be a solution going foward for the Penguins. Blomqvist also has some pedigree, even if he has struggled to stay healthy over the last several years.
All in all, it will be interesting to see how the Penguins handle their goaltending situation for the rest of the season, especially since the team has only won one game in its last 10 after a remarkable 8-2-2 start to the season in the month of October. Both Murashov and Blomqvist figure to be key parts of the Penguins' future, and the future may just get here a little faster than anyone could have anticipated.
Takeaways: Penguins' Push Comes Up Short, Maple Leafs' Stars Come Up Big
After a dramatic 4-3 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> hoped to carry some of that momentum into their final game before the holiday break on Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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