PITTSBURGH (AP) Matt Murray doesn’t keep track of the numbers Detroit Red Wings Hoodies Womens , which makes it easier for the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender to not get caught up in them.His goals-against average? No clue. Save percentage? Nope. Pittsburgh’s record during an occasionally uneven regular season for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions? Give Murray a phone and he’ll probably be able to look it up but otherwise he’s just guessing.”For a goalie, it’s not based on how many goals you let in or how many goals get past you or don’t or how many saves you make,” Murray said. ”It’s not about that. It’s about how you feel.”And despite a physically and personally draining six months that included multiple extended absences because of injuries and the loss of his father Jim in January, the 23-year-old insists he’ll be ready when the Penguins open the first round of the playoffs against Philadelphia on Wednesday night.”I still pinch myself every day I get to be a part of something like this,” Murray said. ”It’s so exciting. It’s like Christmas.”Even if Murray’s first full season as Pittsburgh’s firmly established No. 1 goalie hardly felt like a holiday at times. He missed two weeks in November with a lower-body injury.A concussion suffered after taking a shot off the mask in practice in February cost him another three weeks. He took a leave to be with his family following his father’s death, but returned eager to get back to the rink that he’s long considered a sanctuary.Murray ended up starting just 45 games and appearing in only 49, the fewest by the Penguins’ top goaltender in a decade. His goals-against average ticked up (2.92) and his save percentage ticked down (.907), both the worst marks of his brief three-year career.Yet the numbers don’t take into account the occasionally iffy play in front of him, particularly a penalty kill that finished a middling 17th in the NHL.Yet it’s not the missed backcheck or the inability to get a clear that people notice. It’s when the puck goes in the net.It’s also, however, why Murray declines to get caught up in his stats. Feel free to point them out. Just don’t be offended when he deletes them immediately. The only shot that matters isn’t the last one Detroit Red Wings Hats Womens , but the next one.”Every single play, every single shift, every single time somebody touches the puck, everything resets,” he said. ”What happened before doesn’t matter unless you allow it to.”Something Murray rarely does, part of his preternatural maturity that led the Penguins to make the difficult but necessary decision to leave Marc-Andre Fleury – the winningest goaltender in franchise history and a wildly popular figure both in the dressing room and the city – exposed to Vegas last summer in the expansion draft.Fleury and Murray took a potentially volatile situation in the spring of 2016 and turned it into part of the foundation that helped the Penguins become the first team in nearly 20 years to win back-to-back Cups.Sending Fleury to the Golden Knights meant Murray entered this season without the specter of Fleury waiting in the wings should he falter. At times over the winter Murray flip-flopped between dazzling and dull, kind of like his team.Yet Murray just shrugged his shoulders when asked if he’s worried about his play or staying healthy. He has no control over the latter – there are no guarantees when you make a living willfully putting yourself in front of a piece of rubber hurtling at you at various speeds from various angles – and he’s not concerned about the former.Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has long placed value on Murray’s ability to not get overwhelmed by the stakes.There’s a reason Sullivan turned to Murray at every opportunity in the 2016 playoffs – when the then-21-year-old took over after Fleury was diagnosed with a concussion on the eve of the postseason – and again last spring even though Fleury played brilliantly at times while filling in after Murray sustained a lower-body injury during warmups before Game 1 of Pittsburgh’s first-round series against Columbus.Murray returned and after a wobble in the middle of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final against Nashville, held the Predators scoreless in Games 5 and 6 . In the giddy aftermath, Fleury passed the Cup to Murray, in many ways a literal passing of the torch from one generation to the next.There will be no debating this time around for the Penguins as they chase history. While Casey DeSmith picked up his first career shutout in the regular-season finale against Ottawa last Friday, Pittsburgh’s attempt to become the first team since the New York Islanders of the early 1980s to capture three consecutive Cups will depend largely on Murray.And for all his downplaying of the numbers Custom Detroit Red Wings Jerseys , Murray is well aware of what having his name on the Cup for a third time in as many years would mean to both himself and the rest of Pittsburgh’s superstar-laden roster.”We know what’s in front of us,” Murray said. ”We know the opportunity is there for the taking. We’re here and now everything resets. For sure obviously we know what’s at stake.”— The Vegas Golden Knights are among the NHL teams with the most salary cap space going into free agency , giving the Western Conference champions some chips to put on the table in a bid to get back to the Stanley Cup Final.Vegas had nearly $30 million to spend going into the weekend, according to spotrac.com, trailing only the New York Islanders by about $2 million. The Golden Knights seem set up for major moves if general manager George McPhee wants to bolster the second-year team with free agents.Vegas didn’t appear to have a shot at landing the top prize on the market John Tavares . But the Golden Knights may make a run at some other available veterans to help increase their chances of competing at a championship level again next season.Players such as James van Riemsdyk and Paul Stastny would fit in up front with a team that stunningly exceeded expectations during the franchise’s inaugural season. Mike Green, perhaps the best defenseman available, is another veteran that would mesh well as a puck-moving defenseman for the speedy team.However, McPhee may not want to pay a heavy price with long-term contracts to land any of the top players on the market. He may choose to re-sign his own free agents, sign goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who has one year left on his deal, to a contract extension. He may roll with the talented players on his roster while trying to draft and develop.The Golden Knights have some free agents of their own they’ll want to bring back. James Neal www.edmontonoilersteamshops.com , David Perron and Ryan Reaves are unrestricted free agents with a chance to cash in on their performances last season by re-signing with Vegas or leaving to take advantage of a thin crop of available players.Vegas’ key restricted free agents are: William Karlsson, Colin Miller, Shea Theodore, Tomas Nosek and Will Carrier. Keeping Karlsson, without a doubt, will be a priority.Here’s a look at some other teams positioned to make major moves:NEW YORK ISLANDERSThe Islanders had nearly $32 million in cap space the day before free agency began, giving them more money to spend than any other team in the league. They’ll need a lot of that money to retain Tavares, who is easily the best player potentially available. The 27-year-old star center can command an eight-year deal to stay in New York for perhaps $10 million, or more, per season.NEW YORK RANGERSThe Rangers were $27-plus million under the cap going into the weekend, but had just 13 players under contract. They will have to spend about $10 million next season to retain restricted free agents Vladislav Namestnikov Edmonton Oilers T-Shirts Womens , Kevin Hayes and Ryan Spooner.TORONTO MAPLE LEAFSThe franchise hopes to sign Tavares, who is from the Toronto area, to give it a second star to go along with 20-year-old Auston Matthews. Toronto will have some tough choices to make with some of its own players potentially on the unrestricted free agent market such as van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Tomas Plekanec and Leo Komarov. William Nylander, a restricted free agent, will be a priority to keep after consecutive 61-point seasons.VANCOUVER CANUCKSWith twin brothers Henrik and Daniel Sedin retiring after counting $7 million each against the cap last season, the Canucks had nearly $25 million in cap space going into the weekend. They’ll probably have to pay free agents more and offer longer-term contracts than other suitors because they’ve been among the worst teams in the league the last three seasons.—