It was his second game of the pre-season, but it was the first time Matt Murray was seriously challenged in goal while wearing the Maple Leafs sweater.
It’s hard to put a lot of emphasis on a pre-season game, but Matt Murray’s performance in a 5-1 Toronto Maple Leafs victory against the Montreal Canadiens shouldn’t be discounted.
Sure, he got a shutout in a 40-minute effort against the same team earlier in the pre-season. But a closer watch of those two periods saw a goaltender who rarely had to make a big save in a high-danger situation.
And it was looking like that again for the first half of the first period on Monday until Montreal finally registered their first shot on goal, a Kirby Dach wrister from 37 feet away at 8:12 of the opening frame.
But then Murray went to work and had to make some difficult reactionary saves.
With Toronto up 2-0, Montreal forward Juraj Slafkovsky’s shot deflected off the stick of Toronto’s Justin Holl. The change in trajectory of the puck forced Murray to be slightly out of position. Although the body shifted, Murray’s eyes stayed on the puck and he was able to get the glove out to stop Josh Anderson from putting the puck past him on the redirect.
Toward the end of the first period, Mike Hoffman had a clear path at the net and took a shot at Murray, but the goaltender was in the ready position to make the stop. Despite the big rebound in front, Murray was quick to re-position himself and stay square on the puck, reducing the probability of another shot to get past him.
In the second period, a breakdown in Toronto’s zone leads to a mini 2-on-0 situation, but Murray identifies the fact that the puck is in too close for the pass. So he stays with the shooter and stayed calm in making the save.
Perhaps Murray’s nicest save of the night came off Slafkovsky. A 2-on-1 situation where the defenseman, in this case Mark Giordano, was not able to take away the passing threat. This leaves Murray to have to aim and possibly anticipate the pass at the risk of losing his net at the shooter. But he reacted with the perfect timing to cut across and flash the leather on Slafkovsky.
More importantly, the puck stays in the glove.
Murray’s only blemish on the evening came on the power-play after a scramble in front of him. Off a rebound, he didn’t stand much of a chance at picking up the rebound, when his defender, Justin Holl, was unable to pick up Jonathan Drouin.
“I thought he was really good and the highlight of the game for me,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Murray.
It is the pre-season against a team that is expected to finish at or near the bottom of the standings so it’s hard to take much stock in these two games for Murray against the Habs.
He’ll likely start against the Detroit Red Wings in the final pre-season game on Saturday before a decision is made for opening night on Oct. 12 against the Canadiens.
The Maple Leafs took a well-advertised risk on Murray when they acquired him from the Ottawa Senators this summer. But for the time being, he has looked like the goaltender the Maple Leafs have felt he can get back to being. The one that won Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2016 and 2017.
Time will tell, when the games produce results that mean something in the standings.