Matt Murray unable to play on Friday night despite being confirmed as the starter

The Leafs are back in action for a rare Friday night game against the Ottawa Senators in the always entertaining Battle of Ontario. Matt Murray was originally slated to start against his former team, but after warm-ups, it was Ilya Samsonov who entered the net to start the game, with Matt Murray posted up on the bench in the backup spot.

The move caught Leafs Nation and the media off guard, as nothing egregious appeared to have happened. There is some speculation, including from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, that Murray perhaps took a shot from William Nylander off the neck or collarbone and wasn't feeling quite right after the play.

With that, Samsonov will start his 5th straight game. The Buds still have games coming up on Sunday and Tuesday against Washington and Boston, so we'll see whether or not Samsonov gets both of those starts as well, or if Murray will be good to go.

Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe is expected to speak with the media after tonight's game and will have an update on what took Murray out of his scheduled start.

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