Add Matt Murray to the growing list of NHL goalies who have suffered injuries in the opening week of the season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that the 24-year-old netminder suffered a concussion during Monday’s practice, during which he stayed on the ice an hour after things ended. There is currently no timetable for his return. Head coach Mike Sullivan didn’t specify how the injury occurred.
“It’s really hard to draw any conclusions with this stuff because I think everybody’s different,” Sullivan said. “That’s been my experience when dealing with concussions with different players over the years. Everybody’s different. The nature of these is different. Sometimes players bounce back extremely quick. Others tend to linger, and it’s hard to predict. I really haven’t given much thought or consideration into it at this point.
“We’re hoping Matt will get healthy, and when he does, we know he’s a very good goalie.”
[Penguins defense invisible through two games]
This is the third known concussion Murray has suffered since 2016. In April of that year he was kneed in the head by Brayden Schenn during their regular-season finale. He would re-join the team and start Game 3 of their opening round playoff series against the New York Rangers. Last February, Murray suffered his second concussion when he took an Olli Maatta shot off the mask during practice. He would miss nearly a month of action.
As they did last season when Murray was battling injury, Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry will handle goaltending duties. It also now appears that Thursday’s matchup vs. the Vegas Golden Knights will feature DeSmith against Malcolm Subban with Marc-Andre Fleury expected to start Wednesday against the Washington Capitals.
So around the league, it’s Murray, Jonathan Quick (week-to-week) and Roberto Luongo (2-4 weeks) all out at the moment.
Penguins unveil third jerseys
In other Penguins news, the team showed off their new thirds that they’ll wear a dozen times this season beginning with their November 15 game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The jerseys feature plenty of similarities to what they wore in the 2017 Stadium Series game against the Philadelphia Flyers. “Mixing the past with the present, the contrasting black sleeves are highlighted with white and gold striping that are inspired from the Penguins’ 1984 jerseys, while the letters and numbering mirror the current home and away jerseys. Additional design details include the sleeve numbers being raised to the shoulder of the jersey to mimic the 1980s look,” says adidas.
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.