When the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Matt Murray this summer, they knew they were taking a risk, but right now he’s been exactly as advertised.
Now granted, as advertised means that the Toronto Maple Leafs were missing him for almost a month due to injury, but equally since his return he’s been in fine form.
His recent run of form, with three consecutive games of 0.909% or above in terms of save percentage has him looking like the Matt Murray that was showing up for the Ottawa Senators from late January last year.
During that run, he went 7 games with a save percentage at or above 0.909%, with a shut-out and two games at or above 0.970% for good measure.
Toronto Maple Leafs Might’ve Known What They Were Doing
Of course, it’s easy to suggest that the Toronto Maple Leafs got their decision right now when you look at Jack Campbell’s awful run in Edmonton.
Likewise, it’s also easy when you look to the way Ilya Samsonov and Erik Kallgren performed while Murray recovered from his injury woes.
Perhaps Murray’s recent performances don’t look anywhere near as impressive if the Maple Leafs aren’t sitting second in the Atlantic Division.
But with all of that said, Matt Murray has ensured that the Toronto Maple Leafs in their past three games stayed in with a chance of winning them each night, showing up with the big saves when called upon.
Looking at Natural Stat Trick, while bearing in mind the relatively small sample size of games for Murray, he has the 7th best Expected Goals Against (at 5-on-5) among goalies that have played more than 2 games this year.
Among goalies that have played more than 1 game, only James Reimer has a better save percentage on the penalty-kill also. While this may feel like a very targeted statistic, it’s important that the Maple Leafs have a reliable last line of defense on the penalty-kill.
Using the more traditional all-strengths save percentage, he ranks 23rd among those that have played 2 or more games with 0.913% and is 24th league-wide with a 2.76 goals-against-average.
Matt Murray is starting to show a level of consistency over the past three games that saw him win two Stanley Cups as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
While it feels like hyperbole to speak of him so resoundingly this early, he has definitely looked a calming presence in the Toronto Maple Leafs net, even with injuries to T.J. Brodie and Jake Muzzin in front of him.
Undoubtedly, there will still be some question marks about his durability across the course of the full season. As of right now, the Leafs can absolutely ride on his good play though while also looking forward to welcoming back Ilya Samsonov very soon.