Keefe says one Leaf stood out above all the rest on Sunday in Philadelphia
After putting together a strong performance at home against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night at home, the Leafs took to the road for the second half of a back-to-back on Sunday, traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers. Surprisingly, after dispatching of the Wings by a score of 4-1 on Saturday, the Leafs still had enough in the tank to put together a 6-2 road win in Philly - though head coach Sheldon Keefe believes the Buds relied a little too much on their netminder on Sunday.
Matt Murray had a lot to prove following a brutal outing against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. During the game against Seattle, Murray allowed 5 goals on just 26 shots, good for an abysmal .808 SV%. Last night in Philly, Murray was much better, showing just how much a Stanley Cup winning goaltender playing at the top of his game can sway an outcome in his team's favour. On Sunday, Murray allowed just 2 goals on 36 shots, rebounding nicely with a .944 SV% and a 2.00 GAA. Here's what Keefe had to say following Murray's big win.
"We made good on a lot of our chances. We scored a bunch of goals. That put us in a good spot in the game. I didn't think we had our best game by any means. We relied on our goaltender probably too much, but he was terrific. That is the story of the game for me: How [Murray] played.
All things considered, it has been a tough stretch here. It was our fourth game this week. To get a good result is nice."
-Keefe on Matt Murray bailing his team out against the Flyers
All things considered, it has been a tough stretch here. It was our fourth game this week. To get a good result is nice."
-Keefe on Matt Murray bailing his team out against the Flyers
Murray now stands at 10-4-2 this season, improving his GAA to 2.57 and boosting his save percentage from .913 to .916 overnight. While goaltenders often have ups and downs throughout the course of a season, Murray's career resurgence has been something to behold in Toronto this season.
Having won two Stanley Cups already in his career, there's no doubt that Murray has the ability to steal a series for his team, as long as he's on his game and plays with the same level of confidence that helped lead him to success in the past. But, as we all know, the stakes are higher than ever for the Leafs and with that comes a certain amount of pressure. While it's cool to see him do this in the regular season, the question of whether or not he can still do it in the postseason remains.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 9 | 374 ANSWERS Keefe says one Leaf stood out above all the rest on Sunday in Philadelphia How would you rate Murray's play so far this season? | ||
| A | 108 | 28.9 % |
| B | 231 | 61.8 % |
| C | 32 | 8.6 % |
| D or lower | 3 | 0.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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