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Murray, Acciari, McCabe & Muzzin

Matt Murray Toronto Maple Leafs

Tonight the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Buffalo Sabres on home ice. The Sabres are a team of the future but are facing an uphill battle to make the playoffs this season. They are currently seven points behind the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. If they are to have any chance for the postseason, they need to begin stringing some wins together.

They are capable of doing so. Although they were drubbed last week by the Dallas Stars by a score of 10-4, their most recent game was a solid effort against the New York Rangers. They played a solid defensive game against the Rangers, with defenseman Rasmus Dahlin playing a key role. Dahlin is one of the top defensemen in the NHL.


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The Sabres will be trying to build on this recent performance and earn a much-needed win on the road against the Maple Leafs. It could be a close game. However, I expect a ton of scoring.

Related: Sabres News & Rumors: Luukkonen, Lyubushkin, Tuch & Dahlin

In this edition of Maple Leafs News & Rumors, I’ll take some time to share some thoughts about goalie Matt Murray’s play. The Hockey Writers‘ readers have been discussing his game in recent posts, and I’ll try to summarize some of their thoughts. I’ll also speak to why I think the team’s management went so “all in” on bringing in experienced defensemen.

Finally, I share some thoughts about the contributions of some of the new players to the team.

Item One: Fans Have Mixed Feelings About Matt Murray

Murray has been named the starter for tonight’s game against the Sabres. Murray has been in and out of the Maple Leafs’ lineup all season and recently returned from a 17-game stint on the Injury Reserved List. Since his return, he’s made two starts with a record of 1-1. The word also is that Ilya Samsonov is not quite 100%.

Matt Murray, Toronto Maple Leafs (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

In those starts and a couple of starts before them, he’s given up four goals in each game. Over his last two, he’s allowed eight goals on 50 shots. That is far from a stellar save percentage. On the season, Murray has a record of 12-6-2, with a goals-against-average of 2.86 and a save percentage of .905.

Murray is expected to split starting duties with fellow goaltender Samsonov for the remainder of the season. That’s probably to give Samsonov some time offload management. 

In recent posts about Murray’s play, The Hockey Writers’ readers have had mixed feelings about Murray’s performance. Some…

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