Murashov joins Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for Calder Cup Playoffs run
Murashov arrives with a .919 save percentage, four shutouts and an NHL shutout already on his résumé. For Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he is depth now and a possible playoff swing piece.
Sergei Murashov has spent the season building a case that he is more than insurance in the crease, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is now taking that case into the Calder Cup Playoffs. The 22-year-old from Yaroslavl, Russia, Pittsburgh’s 2022 fourth-round pick, joins the Penguins after finishing the regular season at 24-9-4 with four shutouts, a 2.20 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in 38 appearances.
That body of work made Murashov one of the AHL’s top rookie goaltenders and earned him a spot on the 2025-26 AHL All-Rookie Team on April 15. It also reinforced why the organization has tracked him so closely since drafting him 118th overall: he has delivered results at every stop, from an October run that brought AHL Goaltender of the Month honors to the 11-game winning streak that tied the Penguins’ franchise record for longest run by a netminder. In October, he went 5-1-0 with a 1.68 GAA and a .935 save percentage, setting the tone for a season that only gained momentum from there.
The timing matters. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton enters the playoffs with a first-round bye after finishing the regular season with an 8-0 win over Rochester on April 18, the kind of closing statement that leaves a team looking for every possible edge before Game 1 of the Atlantic Division semifinal on Thursday, April 30, at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza. Game 2 follows on Saturday, May 2, and the Penguins will want every answer ready if the series turns on one hot period or one save in traffic.
Murashov’s playoff résumé is still small. He has one prior Calder Cup Playoffs appearance, a single-game sample in 2025 that produced a 3.07 GAA and a .903 save percentage over 59 minutes. That does not scream proven postseason workhorse, but it does show he has already been in the pressure of playoff hockey once, and this year’s version arrives with far more confidence, more composure and a much stronger track record behind him.
The other reason this move matters now is the ceiling. Murashov already made his NHL debut with Pittsburgh and later earned his first NHL win with a shutout in Stockholm during the NHL Global Series, a reminder that his upside is not limited to prospect lists. For Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he is depth with teeth. The safest read is that he begins as insurance, but the form, pedigree and timing make him a legitimate swing piece if the Penguins need a goalie who can steal a game and change the shape of a series.
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