The Leafs have named their starter for tonight's game against the Flames
The Leafs appear have the luxury of rolling out a top-notch goaltender no matter who they choose this season between Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray. Now, with each netminder coming off of a shutout victory in back-to-back games, the Leafs had a difficult decision to make ahead of Saturday's matchup with the Flames.
After some deliberation, Leafs goaltender Matt Murray will get the start in goal tonight against the Calgary Flames. This according to head coach Sheldon Keefe, who only a week ago said that he may not reveal starting goaltenders to the media before the games. As it turns out, apparently the Leafs' bench boss can't help himself.
The 28-year-old has had an impressive start to the season. He has appeared in nine games for the Buds this season, posting a .932 save percentage. That is good for the third best save percentage league wide of goaltenders who have appeared in at least eight games. Cnoversely, Samsonov is currently ranked second (.933) and Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark leads the league with a .939 save percentage.
The Leafs should feel very confident with Murray between the pipes right now. Since the loss on opening night, he has appeared in eight games. The Leafs' record in those games is 6-0-2, meaning the team has not lost in regulation with Murray in goal since opening night.
The two-time Stanley Cup Champion is coming off of a historic shutout in Dallas. Not only did he stop all 44 shots faced against the Stars, but his advanced stats (goals saved above expected) were the best we have seen since the stat trackers began tracking the stat. Goals saved above expected is calculated by quantifying the quality of each shot stopped and calculating some being less likely to save than others. And while not everyone believes in advanced stats, I think anyone watching that game would recognize how dialed in he was.
Murray will face the task of facing a Flames team who played in Columbus last night and are coming into Toronto on the second half of a back-to-back with travel. There's no way to tell whether that will impact their play or the quality or quantity of shots they fire Murray's way, but teams coming in on the second half of a back-to-back are at a bit of a disadvantage when playing a rested team who also happens to be at home.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 10 | 302 ANSWERS The Leafs have named their starter for tonight's game against the Flames Who do you feel more confident in net right now | ||
| Samsonov | 42 | 13.9 % |
| Murray | 38 | 12.6 % |
| Both goalies give me a lot of confidence | 222 | 73.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
