The Penguins have reached the point where the goaltending picture is clear enough to name the two men in the NHL net - and still fuzzy enough that nobody’s locking in a script just yet.
With Joel Blomqvist sent to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday, Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov are the goalies on the roster for now. What comes next is still being sorted out, and coach Dan Muse made it plain after practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex that the team isn’t forcing a decision before the season opener Wednesday at Philadelphia.
“We’ll be making those decisions as we go,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “(The answers) will be given to us over time.
The players will answer that. Their play will answer that.
“I look at that as a good thing, too, that we’re in the position where - whether we’re talking about the goalies or other positions on the team - where we’re not going into it saying this is going to be set in stone. Continue to battle.
Continue to compete. There will be opportunity there for guys take things.”
That leaves the Penguins with a choice they’ll let unfold naturally: maybe a short-term look at who gets the nod first, maybe a broader plan that develops into alternating starts, the kind of arrangement the team used at stretches last season with Silovs and Stuart Skinner. Or maybe one goalie separates himself and takes the bulk of the work.
For now, the performances are the only roadmap.
Silovs, 25, is coming off a season in which he split time with Skinner before Skinner departed in free agency. He finished 19-12-8 with a 3.04 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage.
In the preseason, he answered a rough outing with a much better finish Saturday, stopping 23 of 24 shots in Pittsburgh’s 3-1 win at Buffalo. Across exhibition play, he posted a 4.00 goals-against average in 119:55 minutes.
“I think it’s just getting a little bit of rhythm,” Silovs said Saturday. “I felt much more comfortable.
“I was just more thinking about (finding) that zone where I feel good about myself and I trust my ability.”
Murashov, 22, has his own case. He got into his first five NHL games and was strong with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, especially in the playoffs, where he put up a .931 save percentage. In the preseason, he played essentially a game and a half - 89:23 - and finished with a 2.01 goals-against average.
“It’s just a nice feeling that all the work has paid off,” Murashov said of being of the two goalies on the NHL roster.
“At the end of the day, it’s just one step, and at the end of the day the question is what’s going to be the next step. Just keep going, moving forward.”
Murashov also said he isn’t spending time trying to predict how the season will unfold for him. Whether it ends up being 20 NHL games or 60, he says he’ll be ready.
“I cannot choose that. … One day at a time,” he said.
Blomqvist, 24, was part of the preseason picture too, though only briefly. He appeared in just half a game over the four exhibition contests and allowed one goal on 11 shots in 29:30.
In Other News...
Penguins Final Roster Squeeze Just Got More Complicated
The Penguins have started tightening things up as final roster decisions loom, trimming the camp group and moving a few players to injured reserve while the organization gets closer to opening night. It is the kind of housekeeping that always brings a little clarity, even if it also reminds everyone how much still has to be sorted out.
Kyle Dubas is scheduled to address reporters soon, and it will be the first real chance for questions since the NHL draft. Beyond the roster churn, there is still plenty of league-wide noise around trade interest in players such as Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin, while a recent wave of 71 players on waivers has only added to the sense that teams everywhere are trying to squeeze the last bit of order out of a crowded preseason. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Injuries Just Created A Roster Test Dubas Cant Avoid
Preseason injuries have already forced the Penguins into an uneasy spot, and the ripple effect has opened the door a little wider for some of the younger players trying to stick. Pittsburgh has been careful about fast-tracking prospects under general manager Kyle Dubas, preferring to supplement around the edges with veterans, but the current camp situation has created more urgency than planned and more chances than expected for players trying to earn a longer look.
Rutger McGroarty is among the names that suddenly matter more in that equation, because every extra absence changes the balance between development and immediate help. The Penguins are still trying to manage a transition without rushing it, but injuries have a way of making those decisions less theoretical, and Dubas may have to sort out which young players can really hold up now rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Dubas Just Framed Malkins Future As A Bigger Penguins Decision
With the Penguins already planning beyond the immediate season, Kyle Dubas made clear that Evgeni Malkin remains part of the picture for now. The veteran center has signed a one-year, $5.5 million extension to stay in Pittsburgh for the upcoming season, keeping him alongside Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang as the franchise continues to lean on the core that has defined so much of its recent history.
Malkins strong 2025-26 season only reinforced why the Penguins were willing to keep him in the fold, especially after his role in driving the offense. But Dubas framing the move as part of a larger organizational picture suggests the real discussion is not just about one more year for Malkin, but how Pittsburgh handles the next step in a season-by-season balancing act with its aging stars. [Read more 🡒]