In what was supposed to be his final start before the All-Star break on January 27th against his former Ottawa Senators, Matt Murray tweaked an ankle injury that he had reportedly been dealing with for a little bit. It thrust Ilya Samsonov into the net and the results were not good for the Leafs. Today, just before the Leafs hit the ice for their first practice to signal the end of their bye week, Kyle Dubas spoke with the media and provided a bit of an update on Matt Murray's injury situation.
Dubas stated that it will likely be a couple of weeks before Murray returns to game action. That was evident, considering that they had placed him on injured reserve earlier in the day. Placing Murray on injured reserve means he will be out at least 10 days and it also frees up a roster spot for the Leafs, allowing them to call up Joseph Woll. In 19 games with the Leafs so far this season, Murray is 11-5-2 with a 2.73 GAA and .911 save percentage.
Woll, who will back up Samsonov for the time-being, was 12-1 with the Marlies since recovering from off-season surgery and will likely see his first stint of NHL action since last year as the Leafs play a back-to-back against Columbus on Friday and Saturday. Woll was recently named the top goaltender at the AHL Skills Competition. In addition to recalling Woll, the Leafs also recalled Pontus Holmberg and Alex Steeves from the Marlies.