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Following strong starts, both Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray are beginning to come back down to Earth

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Dean Chaudhry
December 30, 2022  (8:39 PM)
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After a strong start to the season, the goaltending the Leafs' goaltenders might finally be falling victim to the law of averages. Both Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray dealt with injuries in and around the same time but once they returned they have, at times, looked almost unbeatable. Their last few games have been far from the norm the Leafs were beoming accustomed to early on and one has to be wondering whether or not this is just a blip in the road or potentially the norm moving forward.

Ilya Samsonov was signed very cheaply this off-season after he struggled to make any headway with the Washington Capitals after being drafted in the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The Leafs decided to roll the dice with 2 talented but - at the time - struggling net-minders and Samsonov looked to be a steal when he started 6-2-0 with a .921 SV% before falling to an injury.

Since his return to the lineup he has started 5 games, recording back to back shutouts against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, before winning 2 of his last 3. In those 3 games however, he has allowed 12 goals on 81 shots and hasn't looked sharp in either of those games.

As for Matt Murray, he suffered an injury during the season opener that the Leafs lost to the Montreal Canadiens on a very late third period goal. He missed over a month before making his return but he stole the show going 6-0-2 with a .941 SV% in the following 8 starts. Similarly to Samsonov, his last 4 games have been rough as he has posted a .871 SV% while allowing 11 goals on 85 shots.

As a whole, Samsonov is 11-3-0 with a 2.20 GAA and a .920 SV% while Murray is backstopping the Leafs with his 8-3-2 record, .919 SV%, and 2.47 GAA. After posting 3 shutouts in 4 games, the Leafs have gone 3-3-0, almost blew a 3 goal lead to the Philadelphia Flyers with 10 minutes remaining in the third period, blew a 3-1 lead to the St. Louis Blues before winning in OT, and also took a loss to the Arizona Coyotes, who enjoyed a 4-goal third period on Thursday to pull off the 6-3 win.

The defense has had its issues in the last few weeks as well as the injuries might finally be taking a toll on a team that went on a 16-3-4 stretch after starting the year 4-4-2. T.J. Brodie has played the last 8 games after missing over a month, Morgan Rielly just recently returned after missing 5 weeks, Jake Muzzin is out long term, Rasmus Sandin is trying to make his way back, and they have relied on a top pairing of Justin Holl and Mark Giordano for a long time now.

The porous goaltending - for now - can be categorized as an outlier because of how well they played for well over a month even after returning from injury. Injuries to their defense could be the biggest hindrance right now but they also haven't done a lot over the last few weeks to keep us satiated. Hopefully one or both can find a way to dial back in here in short order, otherwise the second half may not be nearly as enjoyable to watch as the first half has been.

POLL
30 DECEMBRE   |   219 ANSWERS
Following strong starts, both Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray are beginning to come back down to Earth

Are you at all concerned about the Leafs' goaltending over the last couple of weeks?

Yes6127.9 %
No9844.7 %
Only moderately6027.4 %
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