Musings: Montreal 2, Pittsburgh 1 SO (Preseason Game 1)

The Penguins opened the 2025.26 preseason with a 2-1 shootout loss to Montreal at Bell Centre, with Tristan Broz scoring the lone goal for Pittsburgh. This is the lineup that Dan Muse and his staff put together:

Danton Heinen – Tristan Broz – Anthony Mantha

Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Tommy Novak – Valtteri Puustinen

Robby Fabbri – Joona Koppanen – Avery Hayes

Sam Poulin – Ben Kindel – Boko Imama

Ryan Graves – Connor Clifton

Ryan Shea – Matt Dumba

Owen Pickering – Harrison Brunicke

Joel Blomqvist

Sergei Murashov

Before training camp opened, Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas had this to say about the situation between the pipes, with five goalies on NHL contracts:

“They'll start competing here today, and the best two goalies... with the way that they perform in camp and we deem is best for their development, but notably, the way they perform in camp and preseason... will determine who the two goalies are to start with the Penguins. Their contract situations, none of that matters.”

Dubas talked about how the two young goalies who split the net tonight have extremely high potential, and that was on display.

Blomqvist, who made his NHL debut last season after being named an AHL All-Star in 2023-24, was rock solid. The 2020 second-round pick stopped all 11 shots he faced in the first half of the game before Sergei Murashov took over. The 2022 fourth-round pick was a treat to watch with his talent and athleticism.

“You want hard decisions,” Muse said. “We want guys to be constantly taking advantage of opportunities. Both guys came over tonight and played really well.”

There was a lot of anticipation for Murashov in particular, as this was his first-ever NHL preseason game following an excellent rookie season. He won a franchise-record 10 straight games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, going 12-3 in 16 appearances, and won a franchise record and ECHL rookie record 13 straight games with Wheeling.

“I would say it's a great honor, definitely, to be a part of this organization, to put on this jersey,” Murashov said. “Before the game, I was thinking, how many legend players were putting on this jersey too, and now, it's my job. I'm grateful for that, grateful for this opportunity to be here, to play with these guys. Yeah, it’s preseason, but it’s the best league in the world, and it’s just fun.”

After the game, Murashov said he would need a little time to process how it went. But he was happy to have robbed Montreal’s Ivan Demidov in overtime, as Murashov has some history with the fifth overall pick in 2024, who was named the KHL’s rookie of the year last season.

“We played against Demidov a couple years ago in juniors finals. So, it's kind of like a personal thing, because we lost that final,” Murashov said. “So I'd say yeah, it was nice to make a save. Twice as nice, because I stopped Demidov.”

After a beautiful power-play goal in the first period, Broz also scored in the shootout to keep the game alive. He wanted nothing more than to do that for Murashov.

“He's such a stud. I love him so much. I wish we could have got that win for him. He deserved it,” Broz said. “He's such a great player and such an inspiring person. So, it was fun to see him do his thing out there. I’m sure he’ll build and get better off of it.”

That’s what Broz himself has been doing since the Prospects Challenge, where he had a strong showing. Dubas listed him as one of the players who asserted themselves and because of that, earned himself a better opportunity at main camp than Broz would have had otherwise.

“I feel like I had a really good summer and feel confident,” said Broz, who had to work his way back from a case of mono early in the calendar year. “I feel like I'm moving well and I feel good. Just kind of taking it day by day and seeing where that goes.”

Tonight, Broz lined up between two NHL veterans, with the 2022 second-round pick calling them predictable and easy to play with.

“It was a lot of fun,” Broz said. “I thought maybe we left some chances on the table, left some possession on the table. I know I did. But it was fun and I thought it was a good experience.”

There were a number of younger players in the lineup, as the Penguins are looking for them to run with it, with tonight a big step in that regard.

“Can they push themselves to play more exhibition games?” Dubas said. “Can they assert themselves on the training sessions that are going to start here today, in addition to the exhibition games that they get? And especially as the lineups get better and the games get harder as it goes, can they continue to maintain their level? If they continue to push all the way, and it's very clear that they should be on the team, then they'll make the team, and we'll deal with whatever the ripple effects of those are on some of the more veteran guys.”

STICK TAP: A huge shoutout to Jason Seidling, who filled in for Phil Bourque on the Penguins Radio Network broadcast and did an excellent job with his color commentary. There are not enough words to describe how incredible Jason is. He has been a significant part of the organization since 2009, starting as a website writer before moving into communications, where he worked for many years before transitioning into team services. Jason is the definition of a glue guy with a great hockey mind who is truly the best in the business. We all adore him - he's like family - and loved hearing him in the booth on the call for an NHL game.