Leafs name starting goaltender for Saturday's game in Tampa
The Leafs are currently in the envious position of having a pair of goaltenders who are both providing them with borderline elite goaltending. For Ilya Samsonov, a 7-2-0 record has many excited for what the future may hold for the pending RFA in Toronto. For Matt Murray, a 5-1-1 record is proving his doubters wrong and giving the Leafs something to be excited about, having a 2-time Stanley Cup winner seemingly re-gaining his form.
While the Buds do have two goaltenders rolling, they have not yet had a lengthy stretch where both Murray and Samsonov were simultaneously healthy and, therefore, did not have many difficult decisions to make over the first quarter of the season. Now, with both netminders finally healthy, the Leafs have a fantastic problem; who to start on any given night.
After starting on Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks, many had wondered if the Leafs would go back to Samsonov on Saturday against the Lightning, given Murray's heavy workload over the past few weeks. Well, as it turns out, Keefe and company announced on Friday that Murray would get the nod on Saturday in Tampa.
Murray, 28, is enjoying a revenge tour of sorts this season, after going 5-12-2 last year in Ottawa with a 3.05 GAA and a .906 SV%. So far, through 7 starts as a Leaf, Murray, has shown tremendous athleticism, solid positioning and has made a number of desperation saves to keep his team in tight games, boasting a vastly superior 2.44 GAA and a .927 SV%. He'll look to continue his stellar play against a Lightning team who has won 2 Stanley Cups in the last 3 years.
If these last two games are any indication, the Leafs may look to alternate starts between Murray and Samsonov until one or the other really emerges as the team's primary netminder.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 2 | 343 ANSWERS Leafs name starting goaltender for Saturday's game in Tampa Who will post more wins for the Leafs this season between Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray? | ||
| Murray | 215 | 62.7 % |
| Samsonov | 128 | 37.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
