Coming off two strong performances for the Toronto Marlies, goaltender Matt Murray has potentially earned himself a spot back with the Maple Leafs.
Though he has had a rough journey for the past year and a half, Matt Murray made his triumphant return to the NHL earlier this season.
Victorious in his debut he ended up struggling in his encore, and was demoted quickly in favor of Dennis Hildeby.
Normally getting sent down to the minors is a disappointment for anyone let alone a two-time Stanley Cup winner, but Murray has always taken things in stride and realizes while his best days may be behind him, he can still contribute.
So it was a breath of fresh air that Murray has come out of nowhere to showcase he's still got some left in the tank. With a 5-0 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Sunday, it was the second straight shutout for the veteran netminder.
Matt Murray Playing Himself Into A Potential Call-Up
With a 32-save shutout Sunday, and a 23-save blanking of the same Manitoba Moose, Murray has come into the junior Leafs and created a stable goaltender situation as Artur Ahktyamov gets more accustomed to the North American game.
Dennis HIldeby is currently the Maple Leafs backup while Anthony Stolarz is injured, and though he has the potential to be a big time star in the future, he's too inexperienced.
If Toronto were to swap goalies, it gives Murray a chance to redeem himself while riding a wave of confidence meanwhile Hildeby gets to actually play some games.
This season for the Leafs, the veteran Murray has 1-1-0 with a 3.54 GAA and .879 SV% however he's a two-time Stanley Cup winner in 2015 and 2016, and has a career record is 147-87-24 with a 2.80 GAA and .910 SV%.
Hildeby has struggled in his rookie season, although his record wouldn't reflect that. He's 3-2-0 but that comes with a 3.18 GAA and .884 SV%; decent but unimpressive and was the victim of Toronto's embarrassing 3-0 shutout loss to the Canucks but did win his NHL debut.
While it's not for certain that Matt Murray is going to head back up to the Maple Leafs this season, he's playing like he wants to and if he does, could be an impact depth goaltender as Toronto makes a push toward the Stanley Cup.
