The Great Penguins Goalie Debate

If you read PenguinPoop on a regular basis and especially the comments section, no doubt you’ve noticed there’s somewhat of a debate going on between Other Rick and yours truly.

My esteemed colleague and friend, himself a former goalie, doesn’t think much of our current goaltending tandem of Arturs Šilovs and Stuart Skinner. He firmly believes our best goalies, Sergei Murashov (pictured) and Joel Blomqvist, are toiling in the AHL for the Baby Pens. Furthermore, that they should’ve been promoted long before now.

I’ve disagreed.

According to MoneyPuck.com, the Pens have received solid inputs from their goalies this season. That includes Tristan Jarry before he was dealt to the Oilers. As a team, we have the eighth fewest 5v5 Goals Against Above Expected in the league at minus-9.19.

By comparison, Vegas is last in the league at plus-26.11.

On an individual basis? Including his time in Edmonton, Skinner is tied for 23^rd (out of 92 NHL goalies) in 5v5 Goals Saved Above Expected (5.0), MoneyPuck’s go-to metric. Šilovs is tied for 43^rd (-0.1), Murashov tied for 52^nd (-1.2).

In 5v5 Goals Saved Above Expected per 60, Skinner ranks 32^nd (.155), Šilovs 44^th (-0.004) and Murashov 67^th (-0.311).

My conclusion? While our goalies haven’t been world-beaters, they’ve certainly been serviceable and more than adequate.

It’s interesting to note that among our three goalies, wunderkind Murashov trails the pack. Granted, in a very small, five-game sample size.

As for Blomqvist? Since he hasn’t played for the big boys this season, I went back to 2024-25, when he appeared in 15 games for the Pens. Joel ranked 93^rd out of 103 NHL goalies in 5v5 Goals Saved Above Expected (-6.8) and 83^rd in 5v5 Goals Saved Above Expected per 60 (-0.628).

In fairness to the 24-year-old Finn, the Pens weren’t a very good team last season, so it’s a little like comparing apples to oranges.

Still, there’s nothing in the duo’s admittedly brief NHL cameos to suggest they should command the Pens’ net as Other Rick insists.

This isn’t to suggest they’re without pedigree. On the contrary, the 21-year-old Murashov, in particular, is enjoying a brilliant season for the Baby Pens. The AHL All-Star’s posted some truly dazzling numbers, including a microscopic 2.15 goals against average (GAA) and .922 save percentage (SV%) to go with a 20-6-3 record.

Although he’s been fighting things of late (an .887 SV% in his last 11 appearances), Blomqvist’s numbers (2.62 GAA, .908 SV%) are solid. Like his tandem-mate, he was once an AHL All-Star who posted a 2.16 GAA and .921 SV% as a rookie pro back in ’23-24.

As for future plans? Just an uneducated guess, but I think Kyle Dubas will allow pending UFA Skinner to walk this summer, opening the door for Murashov to be promoted.

As for Blomqvist? His future’s a little more hazy. At the very least, he should reclaim the full-time starter’s job at Wilkes. However, unless Šilovs or Murashov falter or injuries strike, certainly a possibility, I don’t see a clear path to the bigs for Joel. At least not on a full-time basis.

Subject to change, of course.