Matt Murray: More 'Comfortable' And Healthy Headed Into Second Cup Run
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) - Penguins goalie Matt Murray is headed into the Stanley Cup playoffs healthy and coming off his first full season and joined The Starkey and Mueller Show to talk about how ready he is to make another deep run.
Murray says the difference between this year and last is that he's coming off a full year and is healthier than he was at this time a year ago.
"There's a lot of things that are different," Murray said. "I have my first full season under my belt, so that's gonna definitely make a difference in how comfortable I feel going into the playoffs. I'm ready to go for Game 1, unlike last year where I missed two games, I think. A lot of things are different, I'm a year older now."
Murray says he's learned a lot from his first full season in the NHL.
"There's lots of stuff that you really can't prepare for until you go through it in a regular season, especially at the NHL level. Obviously, I've played full seasons before at other levels, but this is my first time at the NHL," Murray said. "The travel is one thing you need to adjust to, just a lot of little things like that that you know about, but you don't really understand how to deal with them until you go through it. I've definitely had my struggles at times this year going through a long schedule like that, but like I said, the playoffs is a little bit different and it's something I think you need to take one game at a time. You never want to get too far ahead of yourself."
Murray also shared with us the mindset he takes into every game, whether it's a regular season game or a Stanley Cup playoff game.
"I try and treat every single game as if it's my first and my last game - with that excitement, as if it's your first game, and that kind of leave-it-all-out-there attitude, as if it could be your last game," said Murray.
Given how he burst onto the scene last year, Murray takes us through how he was able to deal with the pressure and still perform night in and night out.
"I definitely work on my mindset quite a bit. I think the mental game is so important as a goalie and basically your mindset, all it comes down to is how you look at a certain situation. There's tons of different ways you can look at each and every situation, I just try and take the way of looking at things that's going to help me be successful," he said.
Click the audio link below to hear more from Murray as he shares with us some of what he does to prepare both mentally and physically, as well as what he's listening to in his headphones before each game, including one particularly well-known Canadian rapper.