The two-time Stanley Cup champion made his second NHL start this season and admitted his timing was way off.
When Matt Murray picked up a victory in his first start in 21 months earlier in December, it was a feel-good story for the veteran goaltender who wondered if his return to the NHL would ever come following double hip surgery. But now that he's played a couple of games in the NHL, it's clear he needs some more reps before getting another shot with Toronto, and that's probably best accomplished with the Toronto Marlies at this point.
Murray faced a difficult task in his second start this season, playing the second game of a back-to-back against a Washington Capitals team battling for the top spot in the Metropolitan division. Difficulty aside, Murray struggled. Mangiapane's shot squeaked through Murray's pads before he could close them.
Washington's second goal, a Jakob Chychrun snap shot from the circle, beat Murray clean under his glove.
The Capitals' third goal was not fully Murray's fault, but he was unable to get across to make a save on Nic Dowd, who admitted he lost sight of the puck.
"I definitely had a long time off. So there's maybe just like one or two times a game where I just feel like I'm just a little bit late, maybe picking up pucks through traffic, that type of thing," Murray admitted after the game. "That happened a couple of times out there tonight, but it's really once or twice a game. So I just got to clean that up."
Although Murray made 24 saves on 27 shots in his NHL return, a 5-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 20, he was aided by a couple of goals that were called back on review. Through his two starts, Murray is 1-1-0 with an .889 save percentage that will probably not cut it going forward.
"I'm sure he wants a couple back. But, you know, he hasn't played a ton of hockey," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said of Murray. "He battled. He fought. But, yeah, that's about it."
Perhaps Murray just needs more reps with the Marlies before making a return. With Anthony Stolarz expected to be out for at least a few more weeks, Dennis Hildeby may deserve another try as the No. 3 goaltender. Although he has also struggled this season in his two starts, the Swedish netminder has made 66 saves on 69 shots in his last two starts for his best two-game stretch of the season.
The good news for Toronto is that they only have one more stretch of games on back-to-back nights where starting a secondary goaltender is a must. But when the starter is Joseph Woll, who missed some action earlier in the season due to groin tightness, they may need to count on someone else for more than just the one start before Stolarz returns. The decision seems clear at this point. Just as Hildeby has benefited over the last little bit, Murray could also benefit and go down and get more reps.