Murray practices with Penguins, could return for next game

CRANBERRY, Pa. --Matt Murray participated in practice Saturday for the first time since sustaining a concussion Feb. 26.
The Pittsburgh Penguins goalie, who faced full shots prior to a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday, split time in net with rookie goalies Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith during practice.

"It was good," Murray said. "Today was a skills day, so it was a little bit different than our usual practices. Still a lot of work for the goalies, which is good, and it's good to be back out there with everybody."
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not rule out Murray playing against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, MSG+, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV).
"It's a big step for him," Sullivan said. "We'll see how he responds to today's practice, but he certainly looked pretty good out there today."
Murray, 23, has missed nine games since taking a shot to his mask from defenseman Olli Maatta during practice. He said his conditioning has held up well during his absence.
"I've been skating on my own for a few days now," Murray said. "It kind of slowly comes back to you."
Pittsburgh is 5-3-1 in his absence. The Penguins (41-26-5) are in second place in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind the Washington Capitals and six points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers.
After winning the Stanley Cup in each of his first two NHL seasons, Murray is 23-13-2 with a 2.82 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 41 games (37 starts) this season. He won nine of his past 11 games (9-1-1) before the injury.
Murray had one previous concussion, which forced him to miss the first two games of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Rangers in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He returned to make 16 saves on 17 shots in Game 3 before finishing the playoffs 9-2-1 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .930 save percentage.

Even with that previous experience, Murray said he didn't know how smoothly his recovery would go this time.
"Every one is different," Murray said. "I don't think you can know what to expect, to be honest. … At the end of the day, that's kind of out of my control. I just try to make the save and sometimes you get hit. That's the nature of the game. At the same time, you have to protect yourself and know when something is wrong. You can't really get frustrated at it. I had no control over it."
Jarry is 4-2-0 in six games (five starts) with Murray out, including 4-1-0 in his past five. He made 17 saves on 20 shots in a 5-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
DeSmith has won once (1-1-1) in five appearances (four starts) since Murray was injured and has allowed at least three goals in three of those five games.
Murray said he would like to play as soon as possible without rushing his recovery.
"I've been itching to get back out there ever since I got hurt," Murray said. "It's never fun watching and not being able to participate in the games. So, I definitely miss that competition and that atmosphere.
"I'm really looking forward to [returning]. I don't know exactly when it will be, but I have to make sure that I'm ready for it and make sure that I'm completely over this thing."