There were a lot of question marks about the Leafs' goaltending this summer; Samsonov and Murray are answering those questions
When Kyle Dubas decided that a tandem of oft-injured Matt Murray and underachieving first round pick Ilya Samsonov was going to be the Leafs' goaltending tandem for this season instead of re-signing Jack Campbell, the news was not received well by Leafs Nation - and the rest of the league for that matter. While there are still questions about their sustainability and the injuries, when they have been healthy, both have played extremely well.
In 8 games, Samsonov is 6-2-0 with a .921 save percentage while Murray is now up to 2-1-1 with .913 save percentage through 4 games, three of them being this week after returning from an abductor injury. The injuries to Samsonov and Murray have been unfortunate, but when they have played, they have given the Leafs a chance to win every single night. In the 12 games they've played combined, they're 8-3-1 with a combined save percentage of .917 which is significantly better than Campbell's .873 save percentage in Edmonton.
Perhaps the most impressive improvement the Leafs have made in net with the Murray/Samsonov tandem comes at 5v5, where Murray and Samsonov combine for the 4th-best save percentage in the league. Last season, the Campbell/Mrazek tandem finished 27th in that same category.
With Murray back and Samsonov preparing to return hopefully at some point this week, the Leafs' goaltending might just be the strongest it has been in a very long time. As long as one of them is healthy at all times, the Leafs should have no issues getting at least average goaltending, which is certainly enough to allow this team to essentially sleepwalk into the playoffs. If they can provide above average goaltending, as they have thus far this season, the Buds could really do some damage when the games begin to matter in the Spring.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 20 | 285 ANSWERS There were a lot of question marks about the Leafs' goaltending this summer; Samsonov and Murray are answering those questions How would you rate the Leafs' goaltending so far this season? | ||
| It's been excellent! | 44 | 15.4 % |
| Very good | 137 | 48.1 % |
| About average | 90 | 31.6 % |
| Average to poor | 14 | 4.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
