Murray made 24 saves against the Sabres in what was his first NHL game in almost two years.

It was a rollercoaster of a game for the Toronto Maple Leafs, however, in the end, they earned a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres for Matt Murray.

The 30-year-old netminder got the start for the Maple Leafs: His first game since suffering an injury on Apr. 2, 2023, against the Detroit Red Wings. Murray had bilateral hip surgery in Sept. 2023, which kept him out of game action until Apr. 13, when he got into a game with the Toronto Marlies.

He's appeared in 11 professional games since then, but Friday's game against Buffalo was his first in the NHL in 628 days. He stopped 24 of 27 shots for a win in his return to the NHL.

Max Domi, who scored a goal and an assist in the game, called Murray's comeback "remarkable" before providing some kind words about the goaltender.

"The resilience and the ability to stick with it mentally out of all of those days that I'm sure he had lots of doubt in there. It's a long road to recovery and we're all super proud of him and really happy for him," Domi said. 

"It's just an amazing accomplishment. We're super happy and eager to get that win for him."

Domi gave Murray the game belt after the game. The 29-year-old said his goaltender was 100 percent going to get the honor following what was an impressive performance by Murray in Buffalo.

"It's unbelievable. That's really all you can say. It's a great accomplishment and, don't get me wrong, he's won Stanley Cups, so that's pretty cool too. But, I'm sure this feels just as good in a lot of ways because a lot of people I'm sure, including himself at some point, would've counted him out and said, 'Alright, I've got a pretty serious injury.'" Domi said.

"But to mentally clock in every single day for that long, it's unbelievable. That's stuff that you guys as media members and the fans don't see, but us players do and, I mean, it's inspirational for us. We all look up to him and we're super happy for him."

Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly echoed Domi's thoughts about Murray after the win.

"I thought he played great. As a group in here, we're very happy for him. Whenever you have a teammate who goes through a long rehab process after a serious injury, he didn't complain once. He didn't feel sorry for himself. He just got back to work," the defenseman said. 

"It was great to have that payoff here tonight and he's going to continue to grind and continue to put in the work. You're extremely happy for a guy like that."

Toronto captain Auston Matthews understands what it's like to go through rehab for an injury. Although it's never as long as Murray's, the 27-year-old can appreciate the work that went into the goaltender making it back to the NHL.

"It's awesome to see. The last year and a half, two years, I mean, we see him every day at the rink rehabbing, working out. It's been a long journey for him and just an incredible, incredible person, so it's awesome to see him get this one tonight and it's extremely well deserved."

This was a special game for the entire team. Not only did Toronto continue their offensive onslaught, but they did their best to win an important game for their goaltender.

And, at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

"I thought our team played really hard in front of him. The first period was key," said Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube. "I thought that the way we came out in the first and dictated the game and the pace of the game and how we were going to play. They were dialled in for him."