Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov makes a save on Ottawa Senators' Claude Giroux with help from Auston Matthews, during second period NHL hockey action in Toronto on Oct. 15.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
It took all of one game and four days into the regular season before Matt Murray got hurt.
The Maple Leafs goaltender suffered an adductor injury during Saturday’s morning skate and will be out for at least four weeks.
It is the seventh time in less than five years that the 28-year-old has ended up on the injured list. Toronto acquired him in the off-season from Ottawa, where he started 45 games and won 15 over the past two campaigns.
At 25, he had already won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins. Three years later he has become a hobble in waiting.
As luck would have it, the Maple Leafs also brought in a second goalie during the summer.
Ilya Samsonov got an unexpected start against the Senators, whom the Leafs beat 3-2 on Saturday night, and is now 2-0 with a .926 save percentage. Earlier he beat his former team – the Washington Capitals.
Murray was okay and nothing more during Wednesday’s opening-night loss in Montreal. Then he came up lame during a light pregame drill.
“He has been healthy all the way through the off-season, training camp and preseason,” Sheldon Keefe, Toronto’s head coach, said after Saturday’s victory. “He has put in a lot of work and hasn’t missed a second.
“To that end, it is disappointing for him and it is disappointing for us. We want him to be healthy and in the net.”
For his part, Samsonov looks ready to embrace the challenge. He had reasonable success in Washington even if the Capitals opted not to re-sign him.
He is a former first-round draft pick, went 23-12-5 last season and was 52-22-8 overall with Washington.
The 25-year-old signed with Toronto for just one year and US$1.8-million. He banked on a big season and a sizable pay raise after it and now has been handed a big chance.
“He had other opportunities,” Keefe said Sunday after practice. “He could have got more money, and he could have got more years. This was the fit that he wanted.
“He wanted the opportunity. He is on a bit of a mission here and now the door is really open for him. We are going to have to lean on him more than we would have.”
A happy-go-lucky sort, Samsonov is bright and personable.
“Nothing changes for me,” he said on Sunday. “I am ready all of the time. I go day by day and step by step. I am comfortable. I don’t feel any pressure. Everything seems normal.”
Erik Kallgren, who left the Marlies’ opener on Friday after he was bowled over, has been recalled from the AHL affiliate and will serve as the backup to Samsonov.
Kallgren was 8-4-1 last year in relief when injuries plagued Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek.
“I feel good,” Kallgren said. “Last season I felt comfortable here. I’m excited. I want to play in the NHL every day. I am just going to do my best here and try to help the team win.”
At one point the Maple Leafs had both Frederik Andersen and Campbell in the net. That is strength. What has happened since is unfortunate.
Andersen went to Carolina and Campbell left for a long-term deal with the Oilers. That created uncertainty in Toronto’s crease.
The Maple Leafs are 2-1 as they head into a Monday encounter with Arizona at Scotiabank Arena. William Nylander leads the team with two goals. Auston Matthews has one. Mitchell Marner and Morgan Rielly have racked up three assists each but have yet to score.
The team could probably survive this week with only Samsonov. After the Coyotes, the Maple Leafs play at home against Dallas on Thursday before they hit the road for stops in Winnipeg, Las Vegas, San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim.
Samsonov beat his former team on Thursday in his first start and bailed his teammates out against the Senators. He stopped 26 of 28 in that one.
“He looked really calm and settled in the net,” Keefe said. “You can see he has grown from one start to the next.”
Murray had looked sharp in preseason but was ordinary against Montreal. The injury takes him out of the picture for at least 10 games.
That could be long enough for Samsonov to get a foothold on the job.