THE MAN IN BLACK: Johnny Cash would approve of Matt Murray's all-black Team North America goalie equipment.
"I like how it looks, for sure," Murray said. "I've seen a couple of pictures, and it looks pretty sleek and pretty intimidating."
Unlike the mostly white gear he wore with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, Murray's new goalie pads, glove and blocker are jet black, as is the base color of his mask, which features a vivid orange paint job.
Inspired by Corey Crawford's look with the Chicago Blackhawks, Murray said the Team North America black and orange color scheme helped draw him to the dark side.
"I think the black can throw shooters off sometimes, and Crawford did it and I really liked how it looked on him," Murray said. "I think it really goes well with our jerseys too. I know our black jerseys have no white in them whatsoever, so the black looks good and, yeah, just to switch it up more than anything."
He is well aware of the debate about whether there is an advantage to wearing light or dark goalie equipment.
"With black pads, you say you see more net and your five-hole looks bigger," Murray said. "But if guys shoot five-hole, they're just going to bury it into your pads, so that's not a bad thing if your five-hole looks bigger. I know in tight on rebounds if the puck comes off black pads, guys are going to have a hard time reacting to it and so it might get lost. I've noticed that in the first couple of practices, in tight, guys are a little bit slower burying rebounds. So there are pros and cons to both. Everybody's got their opinion. I don't really think it matters."
Murray's all-black look will last only as long as Team North America's run at the World Cup. He previously ordered his Penguins goalie equipment for this season.
"My Pittsburgh set's in already and it's mostly white," Murray said. "It's just something I thought I'd try and see if I liked it. Maybe in the future."