The Maple Leafs are set to headline the first “Hockey Night in Canada” of the season, but they may be without one of its goaltenders for the game.
Matt Murray left the morning skate Saturday with “discomfort in his groin,” according to Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe. The netminder talked to goalie coach Curtis Sanford before leaving the ice.
“It’s too early to tell you what happens given the ‘what if’ scenarios or anything like that,” Keefe said. “We’re just going to focus on getting Matt assessed and take it from there.”
Some video on the situation pic.twitter.com/8sjpQ2H38r
— David Alter (@dalter) October 15, 2022
This was supposed to be a revenge game of sorts for Murray with Toronto taking on Ottawa. Murray is in his first season with the Maple Leafs after being acquired from the Senators in the offseason. He spent the past two seasons with the Sens.
MORE: Who is playing on ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ tonight?
Murray lost his lone appearance this season, 4-3 in the season opener against the Canadiens. He stopped 19 of 23 shots.
Is Matt Murray playing tonight?
There has been no official word on whether Murray is in or not, but the Leafs recalled Erik Kallgren from their AHL affiliate, which is not a good sign for Murray to be available for the 7 p.m. ET game at Scotiabank Arena.
Kallgren would be the backup to Ilya Samsonov.
What is Matt Murray’s injury?
The team announced that Murray will be going on long-term injured reserve in what the team is calling an “abductor injury.”
The @MapleLeafs have placed G Matt Murray on long-term injured reserve. He is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks (adductor injury).
G Erik Källgren has been recalled from the @TorontoMarlies on an emergency basis.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) October 15, 2022
Given the Maple Leafs’ cap situation, it is one of the few options they have to remain cap-compliant.
Who is the starting goalie for the Maple Leafs?
Samsonov is expected to get his second consecutive start in net, with Kallgren the backup.
He won his Maple Leafs debut, stopping 24 of 26 shots in a 3-2 victory over his former team, the Capitals, on Thursday.
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