According to Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Penguins’ goaltender Matt Murray will be out for three to six weeks after breaking his hand at the World Cup. Murray was pulled in team North America’s loss to Russia on Monday night, and originally thought he had just jammed his thumb. He even said he was willing to play against Sweden if they needed him to, despite the pain he felt in his hand.
Murray, 22, was expected to head into camp with a real shot at taking over the #1 job in Pittsburgh from Marc-Andre Fleury after a wonderful playoff performance, but will now just hope to make it back by November. In 21 playoff games en route to the Stanley Cup, Murray went 15-6 with a .923 save percentage and 2.08 goals against average. The Penguins regular season starts October 13th, just under three weeks away.
For all the trade rumor that surrounded Fleury this summer, perhaps GM Jim Rutherford was correct in keeping both goaltenders to start the season. He’ll now be able to turn to a veteran netminder who has been elite in the past and can keep the Penguins on track as they try to defend their championship. It will be interesting to see what happens when Murray returns, especially if Fleury is playing well.