While Pittsburgh has a new netminder, they’ll have to wait a bit for his debut with the team. The Penguins announced (Twitter link) that both Stuart Skinner and defenseman Brett Kulak have been granted non-roster status while going through the immigration process. With the team needing a second goalie for tonight’s game against San Jose, Sergei Murashov has been recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Murashov was a fourth-round pick by the Penguins back in 2022 and he is in his second full season in North America. Last year, he split time between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and ECHL Wheeling, doing well at both levels, including a .922 SV% in 26 games with the latter.
That moved him up the depth chart this season and earned him his first NHL action earlier on this season. Murashov has played in four games with Pittsburgh, posting a 1-1-1 record with his win being a shutout. He has a solid 1.90 GAA and .913 SV% in those outings which is certainly worthy of a longer look. However, with two other goalies on their roster, they’ve prioritized maximizing Murashov’s playing time in the minors. In 11 outings with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he has been elite, compiling a 1.56 GAA and a .943 SV%.
It can take several days for a player to go through the immigration process and with applications typically not getting processed on weekends, it might take a few games before Skinner and Kulak get the green light to make their Penguins debuts.