A look at the incredible numbers from Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov as the preseason comes to a close
There were a lot of question marks surrounding the Leafs' new goaltending tandem coming into the preseason, but thanks to some stellar play from both Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, the concerns seem to have dropped off a bit as we approach the regular season.
For Ilya Samsonov, although he appeared in 3 games for the Buds during the exhibition schedule, he was listed as the goaltender of record in just two contests, going 1-1-0 and posting a strong .917 SV%, stopping 72 of the 78 shots he faced.
When it comes to Matt Murray, the preseason was a revenge tour of sorts for the two-time Stanley Cup winner, who has worked very hard to show his detractors that he still has some quality hockey left to play at just 28 years-of-age. Murray finished the preseason with an otherworldly .970 SV%, making 64 stops on 66 shots and going a perfect 3-0-0.
Samsonov and Murray combine for a .943 SV%, but the variance in favour of Murray doesn't tell the whole story, as Samsonov played Friday's game behind a handful of depth NHLers, only one NHL defenseman and the vast majority of the rest of the supporting cast were either rookies or AHLers. Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings dressed their starting NHL roster, so there was a bit of a mismatch there from the start.
Naturally, strong preseason results are not a guarantee that equally strong regular season numbers are coming. The Leafs cannot let off the gas and Murray and Samsonov are going to have to continue to put in the work all season long to put themselves in the best position to be able to replicate their preaseason successes. But, a quality start from both netminders nevertheless.
| POLL | ||
9 OCTOBRE | 413 ANSWERS A look at the incredible numbers from Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov as the preseason comes to a close Can Samsonov and Murray put up a combined .925 SV% this season? | ||
| Yes | 205 | 49.6 % |
| No | 67 | 16.2 % |
| Maybe not .925, but .920 is do-able | 141 | 34.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
