Penguins' Matt Murray saves his best for rivalry matchup with U.S. at World Championships

Matt Murray had his finest showing of the IIHF World Championships in a game against his home country’s biggest rival.

Murray recorded a 28-save shutout to lead Canada to a 3-0 victory over the United States on Tuesday in Slovakia. Penguins forward Jared McCann scored a goal.

That's a 28-save shutout for @mattmurray_30 ?‍♂️?

More from the @IIHFHockey World Championship: https://t.co/uy5yb9AfhT pic.twitter.com/WM1Ha33b7c

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 21, 2019

Murray’s numbers in his first three starts of the tournament – an .890 save percentage in a tournament-opening loss to Finland and wins over Slovakia and Germany – paled in comparison to his showing against the U.S. in the final game in pool play.

“I thought the team did an unbelievable job of keeping everything to outside and made my job easier for the most part,” Murray told TSN.ca. “Limiting second-chance opportunities, I think if you can do that you’re going to have a good chance. Overall, just a really solid team effort.”

Russia’s Evgeni Malkin also had a breakthrough performance Tuesday, posting his first goal of the tournament and an assist in a 7-4 victory over Sweden. Malkin finished pool play with five points in seven games.

.@emalkin71geno with the spin moves @russiahockey seriously in control, 6-1 over @Trekronorse at #IIHFWorlds @penguins pic.twitter.com/nwQoDiQHYW

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 21, 2019

Dominik Simon had another productive outing for the Czech Republic on Tuesday, recording a goal and two assists in a 5-4 victory over Switzerland. Simon is seventh in the tournament in scoring with 11 points in seven games.

With pool play completed, the quarterfinal matchups are set. Canada will meet Switzerland, Russia will face the U.S., Finland will take on Sweden and the Czech Republic will play Germany.