Penguins goaltender Murray hopes to learn from adversity
The injuries Murray had incurred were substantial, but terrific performances in the playoffs rendered them a footnote. This past season, however, Murray began to appear mortal, his goalsagainst average ballooning to 2.92 and his save percentage dropping to .907.
Murray showed flashes of his previous playoff self in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Philadelphia Flyers, but the Washington Capitals had their way with Murray in the semifinals, scoring 16 goals in six games, including a few softies and the crushing clincher by Evgeny Kuznetsov in Game 6.
“It [stinks] losing, obviously,” Murray said. “The overwhelming feeling is you feel like you let everybody down when you lose. That’s not a good feeling, but I definitely used that feeling to try to improve this summer and work to get better.
Murray skated more this summer than he has the past two, the result of having more time to do it. How good he feels also has forced Murray to second-guess how cautious he previously was in returning to the ice, wondering whether that might have contributed to his many injuries.
“I think I might have been a little too careful about not overdoing it just because of our long seasons,” Murray said. “This summer, I didn’t have that worry.”
On the ice, Murray said he has worked a lot on his glove hand and five-hole, the first one of those coming from the Penguins fan base, the second from Murray himself.
“I know there’s a lot of questions about [the glove hand],” Murray said. “I thought my weakness was five-hole, too. I worked on both a lot, trying to be more explosive into saves and stuff like that.”
Around his teammates, Murray didn’t like how singularly focused he became. Sure, he concentrated a ton, always worrying about stopping the next shot, but what he experienced with his dad and losing a playoff series for the first time provided some perspective.
Maybe it isn’t always about honing in on your job, Murray thought. There are other guys around you, too. Murray plans to pay more attention to that this season.
“I get super intense and very competitive,” Murray said. “During games, I don’t really talk a whole lot just because I’m so focused. That’s something I want to improve on. It’s a team sport, and it’s important to have that connection with your teammates. I hope to do a better job of that this year.”
Growing up
Hockey wasn’t all Murray focused on this summer. He thought about his dad a lot, too. James Murray died Jan. 16, the result of successive strokes. The first one wasn’t so bad, Matt said, but the second essentially turned out to be fatal.
“I talked to him after the first one, and he said, ‘Don’t worry about it. I feel fine.’” Matt said. “Then, he had another one right after that, which was the bad one. … A weird experience to go through, for sure.”
A tough and emotional one, too, as anyone who has lost a parent at a young age can attest.
“I feel like I definitely grew up a lot this year,” Murray said. “I felt like that in previous years, too, but nowhere near this year, just because of what happened. You’re a different person when you lose your father. Emotionally, mentally, I feel older, for sure.”
This summer, Murray bought a lake house and a jet ski and spent a lot of time on the water. He also joined a private golf course and got inked up a bit — “The Man in the Arena,” a nod to Teddy Roosevelt’s famous speech, on his biceps; angel wings for his dad on his forearm; and the years ‘16 and ‘17 on his fingers, right above the knuckles, to signify the Stanley Cup titles he helped the Penguins win. Murray liked the experience so much that he plans to get more tattoos soon.
Murray’s on-ice plans and goals don’t start and stop with his glove-hand and fivehole. Finding some consistency is another big one.
“You’re never going to be your best every single night, but, as a starter, you have to be that backbone for your team and give your team the confidence that you’re going to be there night in and night out to do what you need to do,” Murray said.
Off the ice, Murray’s goals are many.
“Be a better teammate, be a better boyfriend, be a better dog dad, be a better citizen, be a little bit more present in the community, stuff like that,” Murray said. “It’s not all hockey. Obviously, that’s a big part of it, but there’s more to life than just hockey.”
Murray is planning some work with a Thunder Bay, Ontario, charity that was close to his dad’s heart. He’s also exploring ways to give back in Pittsburgh.
“From my own experience, I realize how influential athletes were on me when I was a kid,” Murray said. “I still get inspired watching other athletes. Being an athlete now, in the public eye a little bit, I realize the platform that we have to try and inspire and do good things. I hope to do a lot more charity work this year and be more accessible to the general population. I want to help inspire people.”
As he spoke, Murray couldn’t help but sneak a few peaks at the Steelers game.
“That’s my boy,” Murray said as JuJu Smith-Shuster made a catch.
“Good number right there,” Murray added while watching James Conner (30, the same as Murray’s) rumble for a first down..
This past year wasn’t an easy one for Murray. But he thinks it positioned him better in the long run to carve out his own lengthy career.
“I went through a lot of adversity, for sure, both personal and professional,” Murray said. “It was a big transitional year, I guess you could say. There were ways where I didn’t handle certain things as well as I should have, but, at the end of the day, I feel like I learned a crazy amount last year, probably more so than any previous year just because of everything that happened.
“I feel like you can learn more from your failures or defeats than you could from your successes. I definitely feel as though I didn’t handle myself as well as I could have in a lot of different ways. But I’m able to recognize that and, hopefully, work on that and try to do a better job of that going forward.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.