Acquiring goaltender Matt Murray from the Ottawa Senators last offseason was a gamble for the Toronto Maple Leafs. As the 2022-23 season progresses, it's becoming clear that the gamble isn't paying off.
In the team's latest game against Carolina, Murray let in four goals again, something's he'd done often this season. It resulted in a 5-3 loss. Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe didn't mince his words, singling out Murray and emphasizing the need for him to improve.
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"I thought he did a good job for us. But of course, it's difficult to win with any sort of regularity if you have to score more than four. Matt's got to find a way to keep one or two of those out."
Matt Murray's Goals Against Average (GAA) this season is 2.97, with a save percentage of .905. The root of his problem is inconsistent performance. While he may occasionally have an outstanding game, more often than not, his performances are mediocre, if not dreadful.
This inconsistency poses a major challenge for the Leafs since they can't predict which version of Murray they'll get in any given game. It's crucial that he improves before the playoffs, but time is running out. Based on his current form, it seems likely that Ilya Samsonov will be the go-to goalie for Toronto in the playoffs.
Did Murray deserve to get called out by Keefe?
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