Matt Murray picked up his first shutout with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it was a series of saves late in the second period while on a 5-on-3 that put the Dallas Stars away for good.
Matt Murray had already endured a heavy workload with a 15-save performance in the first period when his Toronto Maple Leafs took six minor penalties in the second frame.
Down to five defensemen after Victor Mete took a hit along the boards from Dallas Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa, the Leafs m capped a penalty-filled second period with a couple of unforced errors.
Mark Giordano took a penalty for flipping the puck over the glass at 18:05.
Twenty-two seconds later, Justin Holl closed his hand on the puck and threw it down the ice, putting the Maple Leafs down by two men for 1:38.
That left Toronto without their leading two penalty killers, leaving Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin to defend the 5-on-3 along with Mitch Marner.
As Dallas pressed, Stars forward Jason Robertson’s shot from the point broke Marner’s stick, turning the situation into a 5-on-2.
But Murray and the rest of the Leafs held down the fort.
In that final sequence at the end of the second period, Murray made five of his 44 saves in a 4-0 shutout victory against the Stars. Marner sand Sandin each had a pair of blocks and David Kampf came on for the final shift of the second period to also get a block in.
“We were sacrificing the body, blocking shots, getting in lanes,” Murray said of the 5-on-3. “Might not have been the prettiest, but we got it done.”
Murray recorded his first shutout as a Maple Leaf and improved to 6-0-2 since returning from an adductor injury last month.
“He was perfect,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of his goaltender’s game. “He came up with big saves in huge moments; Mur was really solid on that 5-on-3, he was incredible.”
The Maple Leafs have recorded points in 12 consecutive games and they did it by blocking 27 shots while halting Robertson’s points streak at 18 games.
Already without their top three defenders Morgan Rielly (knee), TJ Brodie (oblique) and Jake Muzzin (cervical spine issue), the rest of Toronto’s defensemen have stepped up in a big way.
But as the defense has stepped up, so too has the level of goaltending.
“If some puck that could have done in today would have gone in, maybe it would have been a different game,” Maple defenseman Rasmus Sandin said. “He’s a class ‘tender. He makes those saves and it’s huge for us.”
Murray saved 5.979 goals against the Stars, according to Moneypuck.com. That’s the highest number recorded by a goaltender in a single NHL game since the stat has been calculated.
As Toronto develops an identity of becoming a better defensive team, it’s their last line of defense that has stepped up. While Murray saved nearly six goals above expected, you could have expected the Leafs to let the game slip away late in that second period.
But there were no excuses. Toronto put their heads down and went to work.
“I don’t know if there were words for that, that was special,” Auston Matthews said of the sequence.