PHN Extra: Murray Close, Penguins Face Big Decisions

Matt Murray badly wants to get back in the net for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Coach Mike Sullivan said Tuesday the team needs Murray with seven games before the Christmas break, including two sets of back-to-back dates.

That doesn’t necessarily mean everything will be rosy when Murray comes back from an upper-body injury. The goalender rejoined his teammates for a full-participation practice Tuesday could be available as soon as Wednesday night when the Penguins play the Blackhawks in Chicago.

Sullivan stopped short of saying Murray, who has missed the past nine games, will immediately regain his undisputed No. 1 role. That has everything to do with Casey DeSmith, who has been doing a more than passable job of making Murray, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, look a bit like Wally Pipp.