The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds by a score of 4-1. In goal for the Penguins, making his North American debut was Sergei Murashov, who earned third-star honors by making 27 saves.
Initially drafted by the Penguins in the fourth round (118th overall) at the 2022 Draft, Murashov had a dominant run in his native Russia in the MHL and KHL.
No longer under contract to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Pittsburgh invited their young prospect to North America for his first training camp in September. Last year in the MHL, he was 24-4-2 with a .930 SV% and 2.03 GAA.
Related: Can Penguins Break Season Opening Trend?
Although he wasn’t guaranteed a spot in the NHL, Murashov was a lock to either become the starter with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or serve in a platoon with Joel Blomqvist.
In his AHL debut, Murashov gave up a single goal in the second period off the stick of Mackenzie MacEachern while making 12, 6, and 10 saves per period.
Considering that Blomqvist is currently with the Penguins at the NHL level, Murashov could end up with another start next week when the baby Penguins play a home-and-home with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday and Saturday.
Bookmark THN’s Pittsburgh Penguins site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and more.
