Matt Murray injured following accidental collision right before the playoffs
With the Stanley Cup Playoffs set to kick off in 2 weeks time, the last thing any team needs to endure is injury trouble for a key player, least of all a goaltender. Unfortunately for the Leafs, that's exactly what happened on Sunday against the Red Wings.
During the late stages of the 1st period, Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond slipped and fell, sliding into an unsuspecting Matt Murray, whose attention was firmly fixated on the play in front of him. The end result was Murray falling backward, appearing to strike his head on the ice.
Murray stayed down for several minutes as the Leafs' medical staff attended to him before he vacated with the trainer to undergo what was almost certainly concussion protocol. Murray, unfortunately, has a history of concussions, so I'd be surprised if he returned for the 2nd period.
If Murray's injury is significant, the Leafs will be forced to run a tandem that consists of Ilya Samsonov and rookie netminder Joseph Woll. While both have played some phenomenal hockey for the Leafs this season, they don't even combine for 140 NHL starts. Samsonov has also appeared in just 8 playoff games in his young career.
I'd imagine we'll have an update on Murray following the game, but as we've seen all year long, the Leafs take no chances when it comes to head injuries. I'd suspect that Murray will get the rest of the night off, with the Leafs exercising "an abundance of caution" - a phrase we've become accustomed to hearing this year.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 2 | 337 ANSWERS Matt Murray injured following accidental collision right before the playoffs Can the Leafs win a playoff series without Matt Murray? | ||
| Yes | 310 | 92 % |
| No | 27 | 8 % |
| List of polls | ||
