TORONTO — This was always the great risk of the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 2022-23 campaign, was it not?
Trade for an injury-prone goaltender, and you run a real chance of that athlete succumbing to injury.
Matt Murray has put up respectable numbers as a healthy member of the Maple Leafs (14-8-2, .903 save percentage) in the regular season, but the great selling point upon his summer acquisition from the Ottawa Senators was his playoff résumé and championship pedigree.
Now, after Sunday’s unfortunate, accidental knockdown by Detroit’s Lucas Raymond, Murray’s availability to back up Ilya Samsonov in Toronto’s opening-round series versus the Tampa Bay Lightning is in doubt.
“He’s got a head injury, so we’ll see where that is. He’s got some other stuff as well,” coach Sheldon Keefe said Tuesday, following the club’s emergency recall of third-stringer Joseph Woll.
The team is categorizing Murray’s status as day-to-day and will not place a timeline on return.
Keefe declined to specify if Murray suffered a concussion from his surprise fall. The goaltender does have a history with concussions, which limited his action in both Pittsburgh and Ottawa.
The two-time Cup champ also missed time this season with adductor and ankle injuries.
The silver lining here is Woll, who is projected to start Tuesday and has shone in limited relief duty (3-1-0, .934 save percentage),
“Joe’s been terrific for us. With Sammy and Joe, we’ve got lots of confidence there. And Sammy’s been really rolling towards playoff here. On that side of it, I don’t think it’s too much of disruption,” Keefe said.
Samsonov is enjoying his best season in the NHL (25-10-4, .915 save percentage) and recently mentioned how he would like to see more action to keep his timing sharp as Game 1 nears.
“Our depth in goal for the organization is extremely strong,” captain John Tavares said.
O’Reilly getting antsy, but Leafs being cautious
This is the week the Maple Leafs had targeted for Ryan O’Reilly’s return from finger surgery.
No doubt, he’d be lineup if the results mattered. But with time to spare, O’Reilly will rest Tuesday night and undergo another round of imaging on his healing digit — despite skating on a practice line with Tavares and Mitch Marner.
“I could push it harder, but there’s no point,” O’Reilly told reporters last week.
The player is antsy to get in some game action, but the team is smartly exercising caution here.
“He’s still got a swollen finger from the looks of things, but he’s doing everything he can to get back and play,” Morgan Rielly said.
When will that be?
“Any day now,” Tavares said.
Bunting won’t walk away from the edge
GM Kyle Dubas has spoken to the league, Keefe has spoken to Michael Bunting, and everyone with an outlet has chimed in by now on Bunting’s testy relationship with the men in stripes.
“As a group, we’ve pushed him and challenged him to continue to find that balance of playing his game, playing on the edge, but also understanding the dynamic of that and also building relationships with the officials. And the respect goes both ways,” Tavares said, diplomatically.
“It’s not always easy. At times it can be frustrating, but I think he’s done a good job and he’ll only continue to learn through experience.”
Bunting is well aware of the divergent opinions on his style of play and efforts to draw penalties and get one of the NHL’s most dangerous power-plays on the ice.
“I play hard. I play in those tough areas, and that’s my game — to play on the edge. So, I plan on keep doing that,” Bunting said.
“We’re one big family here, and obviously we have one another’s back. But (I’m) not really worried about anything on the outside, all the noise and all that. I’m just trying to focus on helping this team win, and I’m looking forward to playoffs.
“I play on that edge and kinda in that role that draws a little bit more attention to myself. And I know that. And I’m OK with that. I’ve played that my whole life. I’ve played that in every level, even in the American League, so I don’t plan on changing. It got me here.”
Pride Night
The Maple Leafs will celebrate their annual Pride Night Tuesday.
You’ll see celebratory decals on helmets and rainbow tape on sticks.
You won’t see the players in special Pride warmup sweaters, however, a custom that some teams in the league have started but something the Leafs have not done in the past.
“I think it’s always been important. It’s been a part of what I believe in for a long time personally, and it’s a great opportunity for our organization to include everybody tonight and make everybody feel welcome,” Rielly said.
“I was at the parade with Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan, and the belief within the organization has always been there in terms of including people and having our team be a place where everybody’s welcome and safe.
“Whether you wear jerseys or not, I believe that actions speak louder than words and especially speak louder than attire.”
One-Timers: Erik Gustafsson (personal reasons) is flying back to Toronto Tuesday and will rejoin the club…. Luke Schenn will be healthy-scratched Tuesday and return to the lineup Thursday in Boston…. Keefe gave Tavares, Auston Matthews and William Nylander all the option to skip morning skate. Nylander took him up on it…. Radim Zohorna was returned to the Marlies, and Bobby McMann was moved to LTIR, freeing up cap space for O’Reilly’s looming return.
Maple Leafs projected lines Tuesday vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Bunting – Matthews – Järnkrok
Nylander – Tavares – Marner
Aston-Reese – Kämpf – Lafferty
Abruzzese – Acciari – Kerfoot
Rielly – Brodie
Giordano – Liljegren
McCabe – Holl
Woll starts
Samsonov
