Keefe reveals reason for going with Murray over Samsonov tonight

Following the Leafs' morning skate, it was revealed that Matt Murray would get the start over Ilya Samsonov tonight in Toronto This will be Murray's second consecutive start. Many were surprised by this announcement, as Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has been pretty committed to alternating starts between his goaltenders.

While many were caught off guard by today's selected starter, Keefe's explanation for his decision certainly makes some sense.

Murray and Samsonov respectively have 18 and 17 games played so far this season. As we can see, Keefe has tried to balance the workload as evenly as possible to give them both chances to shine. With Murray having played less games at home, the decision to give him a somewhat rare home start is certainly understandable.

Murray is 11-5-2 over 18 starts this season, has a 2.56 GAA and a .917 SV%. Both numbers are better than his career average of 2.56/.912.

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