After beginning the season in Iowa, where he had one goal and 11 points in 18 games, Murphy was recalled the same day defenseman Jared Spurgeon missed his first game; Nov. 27 in Winnipeg.
While Spurgeon's injury wasn't the reason for the call-up -- the Wild felt Murphy had earned an opportunity anyway -- his play since the recall has helped ease the burden of playing without one of Minnesota's best defensemen.
"The biggest thing with Ryan is getting out of the American League way, and I was there for my whole life. And what it is, is things don't happen as fast," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said earlier this month. "Good players can control the game just by slowing down the game. In the NHL, everything is faster, so you can't be slowing down the game."
Boudreau noticed, especially in Murphy's first few games, that he lacked confidence. Each time, however, Murphy's level of play has gotten better deeper and deeper into games.
Lately, Murphy has begun to play with confidence from the opening puck drop, something that was certainly evident on his goal just over four minutes into Sunday's game.
In a sign of Boudreau's confidence in Murphy, he's even seeing regular power play time on the team's second unit.
Six games in, and Murphy is turning heads.
He's been a minus in just one of those games while posting a plus rating in four others. He's also seen 18-plus minutes of ice time in four of six games.
Slowly but surely, one can see the moxie that once made Murphy a prized product oozing back into his game.
"You can tell he's not a first-year guy," Boudreau said. "He plays with poise, which is really, really good."