Keefe reveals which goalie gets Montreal and which gets Washington in the season opening back-to-back
From the time he was acquired, it was highly likely that Matt Murray would be the opening night starter for the Leafs - as long as he made it through the pre-season healthy of course. Not only did Murray make it through the pre-season healthy, but he was excellent in the games he played. It's a good thing he was because fellow newcomer Ilya Samsonov also had an excellent training camp and pre-season.
Following practice yesterday, Sheldon Keefe announced that Leaf fans wouldn't have to wait long to see either goalie in action as they will be splitting the season opening back-to-back. Matt Murray will be between the pipes for Wednesday night's game in Montreal against the Habs while Ilya Samsonov will make his Leafs' debut against his former team, Washington Capitals.
With the Leafs opening the season with 4 games in 6 days, it is possible that we could see Murray and Samsonov split the first four games, before one or the other goes on a run. If we took Keefe at his word earlier this offseason, the Leafs may even alternate starts deeper into the season until a true #1 emerges. Either way, Leafs fans have to feel more confident in this goaltending duo than any of Petr Mrazek, Erik Kallgren or Michael Hutchison and sometimes Jack Campbell.
| POLL | ||
11 OCTOBRE | 181 ANSWERS Keefe reveals which goalie gets Montreal and which gets Washington in the season opening back-to-back Which goalie ends up being the Leafs' #1 by the end of the season? | ||
| Murray | 124 | 68.5 % |
| Samsonov | 43 | 23.8 % |
| Other/someone not on the team yet | 14 | 7.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
