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— SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Move over Barry Brust.
You too, Johnny Bower.
Matt Murray is now the American Hockey League’s Mr. Zero after he recorded made 32 saves to spark the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 4-1 triumph over the Springfield Falcons on Sunday afternoon.
Murray, who lost his bad for his 10th shutout with 71 seconds remaining, went 304 minutes and 11 seconds without allowing a goal. Dana Tyrell broke in alone and fired a shot that Murray got a pad on, but the puck hit off Tyrell’s skate and went in.
“It was disappointing, but that one was on me,” Murray said. “It was a save I could have made.”
Brust had the record with a streak of 268:17, when he played for the Abbotsford Heat in 2012. The second-longest streak belongs to Hockey Hall of Famer Johnny Bower, who had a streak of 249:51 in 1957.
“I’m honored by the record and it’s great to be mentioned with guys like them,” Murray said. “I’m not at their level yet.”
Murray is 18-8-2 and leads the AHL in shutouts, goals-against average and save percentage. He has shutouts in six of his last seven starts, allowing only one goal on a 5-on-3 power-play to Bridgeport on Feb. 8.
Since the AHL All-Star break, Murray is 8-1-0.
“He’s been very solid,” Penguins head coach John Hynes said.
The Penguins not only swept the four-game season series with the Falcons, they allowed only one goal. The Penguins outscored the Falcons, 18-1 in the process and Murray stopped 109 of the 110 Springfield shots.
“This was a good effort from the goaltender down out,” Hynes said. “Overall, I liked our work ethic.”
Murray’s effort was not lost on his teammates.
“He’s playing well and he’s been fun to watch,” defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. “He gives our defensemen a lot of confidence.”
Tom Kotsopoulos scored one goal and set up two others as the Penguins won their second straight road game. They are 9-1-0-1 in their last 11 games
The Penguins dominated the game from the start. They continued to pepper Oscar Dansk with shots before finally getting one through at 11:53 of the first period.
Kotsopoulos’ goal was disputed and following a lengthy video review, the goal counted even though it appeared he did kick the puck past Dansk.
The Penguins were on the power play when Andrew Ebbett delivered a goal mouth pass to Kotsopoulos, who got the puck past Dansk for a 1-0 Penguins lead.
Murray, who shut out the Manchester Monarchs, 4-0 on Saturday, made several outstanding saves at the end of the period to prevent the Falcons from scoring the equalizer.
Adam Payerl increased the lead to 2-0 at 6:48 of the second period. He converted a Scott Wilson rebound.
Ebbett made it 3-0 with 3:23 left in the second period. Conor Sheary centered from behind the goal to Ebbett, who crashed the net and powered a wrist shot past Dansk.
Murray was at his best when he made several sensational saves during a Springfield power play early in the third period. He also caught a break when a T.J. Tynan shot rang off the goal post.
“He’s done that all year, making key saves to prevent the other team from gaining momentum,” Hynes said. “He makes key saves at key times.”
Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Lablond closed the scoring with 5:04 remaining. He was all alone in front of the net when he flipped a shot past Dansk.
“We didn’t feel too good about our Friday game in Manchester, but it was good to come back and get a couple of wins,” Dumoulin said.
The Penguins will host the East Division leader Hershey Bears on Wednesday.
“It will be a big game and we’ll try to build on what we did this weekend,” Hynes said.
Penguins 4, Falcons 1
WB `1 `2 `1 ` — `4
Springfield `0 `0 `1 `1 ` — `1
First Period — 1. Penguins T. Kostopoulos (Ebbett, Sheary), pp 11:53. Penalties — St. Dennis, Springfield, (Cross-checking), 10:58; Chorney, W-B, (roughing), 17:34.
Second Period — 2. Penguins, Payerl (Wilson, Megna), 6:38; 3. Penguins, Ebbett (Sheary, Kostopoulos), 16:37. Penalties — Rowney, W-B, (Delay of game), 7:51; Chorney, W-B, (Tripping) 12:32.
Third Period — 4. Penguins, Letourneau-Leblond (Farnham, Marcantuoni), 14:56; 5. Springfield, Tyrell, (Collins), 18:49. Penalties — Payerl, WB, (Hooking), 2:42; Chaput, Springfield, (Interference) 7:55; Larkin, Springfield, (Tripping) 12:52; Tynan, Springfield (Interference) 16:47.
Shots on goal — W-B 12-8-7-27. Springfield 10-11-12-33. Power play opportunities — W-B 1/4; Springfield 0/4. Goalies — W-B, Murray, (33 shots, 32 saves); Dansk, Springfield, (27 shots, 23 saves).
A — 3,498. Referees — Tom Chmielewski (43), Darcy Burchell (42). Linesmen — Frank Murphy (29), Derek Wahl (46).