Matt Murray is back in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The 30-year-old played for the Toronto Maple Leafs in relief of Joseph Woll during the third period of Game 5 against the Florida Panthers. Woll allowed five goals on 25 shots in an eventual 6-1 Panthers win.
This is Murray’s first NHL post-season game since Aug. 5, 2020, when he was part of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the qualification round during the COVID-19 bubble playoffs. Murray’s last playoff game under the regular 16-team format was on April 16, 2019, against the New York Islanders.
Murray emerged as a key part of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017 at the beginning of his NHL career.
In 2015-16, Murray only played 13 regular-season games but had a 9-2-1 record, 2.00 goals-against average and .930 save percentage. He got starting duties for most of the playoffs, winning 15 of the 16 games needed to win the Cup in 21 games and recording a 2.08 GAA and .923 SP.
In 2016-17, Marc-Andre Fleury was the starter until midway through the Eastern Conference final against the Ottawa Senators. Murray replaced Fleury during Game 3 of that series and had a 1.70 GAA and .937 SP for a 7-3 record en route to back-to-back championships.
But since Murray’s last post-season game, the Penguins traded him to the Senators in the summer of 2020. He played 47 games for the Sens across two seasons, winning 15 games in that span.
The Senators then traded Murray, a third-round draft pick and a seventh-rounder to the Maple Leafs in July 2022 in exchange for future considerations.
Murray has dealt with numerous injuries during this time, including to his head, neck, abductor, ankle and hip. He only played three games in the 2023-24 season, which came in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies.
But in 2024-25, Murray appeared in 21 games for the Marlies, going 10-5-4 with a 1.72 GAA and .934 SP. On Dec. 20, 2024, he played his first NHL game since April 2, 2023. He stopped 24 of 27 shots for a win over the Buffalo Sabres.
Murray’s return to the post-season came under less-than-ideal circumstances for the Leafs, however.
Bobrovsky, Panthers push Maple Leafs to brink with dominant Game 5 victoryThe Florida Panthers just completed a pretty successful business trip.
The Maple Leafs advanced to the second round for the second time since 2004 when they eliminated the Senators in six games. They then won their first two games against the Panthers.
In Game 1 of the series, Anthony Stolarz left the game shortly after taking a shot and an elbow to the head, and he’s been out since with an undisclosed injury. Woll took over starting duties, while Murray backed up for Games 2, 4 and 5.
With a chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series, the Leafs lost Games 3 and 4 to the Panthers. And with the series at 2-2, Florida scored five unanswered goals in Game 5 in Toronto. When Murray replaced Woll, he conceded another goal to make the score 6-0 for Florida but stopped six of seven shots.
Regardless of the score, Murray’s return to the playoffs required a lot of recovery and work. That made his appearance one of the few positive points of the Maple Leafs’ night.
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