Hot goalies has been the main story this year with the Toronto Maple Leafs, whether it be Anthony Stolarz or Joseph Woll; or the trio of goalies manning the net for the Marlies.
After having a mediocre display in a pair of games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in December Matt Murray was returned to their American Hockey League affiliate and he is making a case to get another shot in the NHL after he continues to work back from double hip surgery.
With the recent injury to Stolarz, both Dennis Hildeby and Murray have been given opportunities with the big club.
Murray had picked up both a win and a loss in his two tests, but surrendered seven goals on just 58 shots for a .879 save percentage. With such a short sample size and the randomness the Maple Leafs skaters play in front of the goalies you can't take much weight in those numbers.
Matt Murray Running Hot in Toronto
This past weekend, Murray was unbeatably (literally) in his two starts with the Marlies during their trip to Manitoba to take on the Moose. The two-time Stanley Cup champion turned away all 55 shots he faced over the two-game span to record consecutive shutouts.
Typically, the goaltending with the Marlies will see minutes split up over a weekend of games, however with Hildeby up with the Maple Leafs and Artur Akhtyamov nursing a lower body injury Murray received both starts with Vyacheslav Peksa serving as his back-up.
On Friday night, Murray had a relatively easy night requiring just 23-saves to lead the Marlies to a 3-0 victory which was helped by a two-point game by Maple Leafs college free agent signing Jacob Quillan. The Nova Scotia native had a quiet start to his professional career after being a point per game player in the NCAA over his last two seasons. Quillan had recorded just one goal through his first 35 AHL games dating back through last season and playoffs, however, he has found a bit of scoring touch of late putting the puck in the back of the net in five times over his last ten games and has 11-points in his last 14 games.
Sunday night was a much busier night for Murray, specifically the back half of the game. After seeng just six shots in the first period, the Moose put on the pressure and pumped 26 pucks at the Marlies goalie over the last two periods, including 14 in the final frame. The Marlies got offence from five different goal scorers to take the contest 5-0, which again was led by a two-point game by Quillan, with Alex Nylander scoring his 14th goal through 29 games.
Murray now leads all AHL goalies with a 1.74 goals against average on the season and sits second with a .933 save percentage.
With his continued success in the minors you have to think he'll get another opportunity in the NHL whether it be this season or signing an NHL deal for next fall.