The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that goalie Matt Murray is sidelined indefinitely with a head injury.
Coach Sullivan on Murray: "Matt was diagnosed with a concussion. Yesterday he got hit with a puck in practice."
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 27, 2018
Matt Murray Injured
The 23-year-old Thunder Bay, Ontario native was hit in the head with a puck from an Olli Maatta shot. Murray left practice early and head coach Mike Sullivan updated the press on his starting goalie’s status earlier on Tuesday.
So far this season, he is 23-12-2 in 41 games with a 2.89 goals against average and .909 save percentage. Murray also has one shutout this season.
Over his three-year NHL career Murray has played for only for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has a 64-25-7 career record in 103 career games and 97 starts. Murray has .918 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average with six shutouts. He has backstopped the Penguins to two Stanley Cups. He was originally drafted in the third round, 83rd overall of the 2012 NHL draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sullivan will now go with Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith between the pipes. Jarry was called up from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on emergency basis.
“We believe in the guys we have,” Sullivan told the media. “We’ve had some success with some inexperienced guys.”
What This Means for the Future
The Pens will once again be without their starting goalie as he suffers another injury. Murray is the clear number one goalie for Pittsburgh but has been plagued by injuries since taking over the number one spot from Marc-Andre Fleury.
Jarry has been solid in relief of Murray this season with a 10-4-2 mark in 20 appearances. He possesses a 2.58 goals against average and .916 save percentage. DeSmith is 3-3-0 in seven appearances with a 2.23 goals against average and .926 save percentage
The Murray injury also might have been the impetus for the team to ask about Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner at the trade deadline. That report coming from Darren Dreger of TSN. Obviously, no move was made, something the Penguins may regret if Murray is out long-term.
Main Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
