Return date for Matt Murray announced
Ahead of their matchup tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe announced this morning the team is planning to start former back-to-back Stanley Cup champ Matt Murray in what will be only his second game with the club since being acquired this summer.
Murray, 28, will face off against his former team as the Leafs take a trip to Pittsburgh ahead of a three-game homestand. Murray's only game for the Leafs this season was the season opener against the Montreal Canadiens, where they lost 4-3 at the Bell Centre. Murray had 19 saves on 23 shots, where he allowed four goals totaling a .826% save percentage on opening night.
Murray has been sidelined due to an adductor injury suffered in practice that same week when he was scheduled to play another one of his former teams, the Ottawa Senators.
Since Murray has gone down, the Leafs have had to recall their third and fifth-string goalies, Erik Kallgren and Keith Petruzzelli. The Leafs' other NHL goaltender, Ilya Samsonov, went down with a knee injury sustained against the Boston Bruins on November 5th.
The return of Murray should complement a Leafs team who has struggled in the goaltending department of late. The Leafs just played the Penguins on Friday night but did not find the result they were looking for, with a 4-2 loss on home ice.
This matchup marks only Murray's second time playing a Pens team with which he won his two Stanley Cups. With the help of a healthy Murray, the Leafs look to build off their win against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night to take down the Penguins and avenge their loss to those same Pens on Friday night.
Credit: hockeydb.com
