Even if Matt Murray is terrible, I would still have him over what Campbell got. We just would have to suffer with Murray for one more year. If Campbell is bad, which I doubt he would be, the Oilers will be stuck with him for another 4 years

only one he should have stopped was the 2nd one. That being said, it pains me to say that Caufield has one of the best shots in the game

Anyone blaming Murray on the other goals doesn't hockey, or particularly doesn't have any clue about goaltending

Like I have always said, you can only understand goaltending if you played the position.

The following was not directed to you but I copy/paste so I don't have to edit, it's late

1) do you realize how CLOSE it was in distance? 29 feet

2) do you realize how FAST the puck comes? probably 80-90 mph

3) do you realize how FAST the plays happen at the NHL level?

4) do you realize that ANTICIPATION is very important for a goalie to be able to make a save?

5) do you realize how important it is to SEE the puck trajectory from when it's released?

This situation was a broken play from an unprovoked turnover, Murray didn't even have time to properly reposition himself. Suzuki had the luxury to be able to make a short pass right in the slot. Murray positioning was the result of reacting to anticipating a one-timer from Anderson, who controlled the puck and shot the other way, which fooled the goalie. Plus, he was perfectly screened by player #3, Justin Holl.

Dubas was the "analytics god" when he arrived in Toronto and he did some fantastic work. But the balance they had between analytics and their "eye-test" hockey minds went out the window when both Lamoriello and Hunter left the org. Am of the opinion that's why even after wildly successful regular seasons the Leafs can't get past the first round of the playoffs.

I've been watching hockey for many moons and even played for a little bit. I'm very aware of how the game moves and works. I'm also aware of what legit starters should be capable of.

The 2nd Cole goal should have been a routine save. As good as that shot was, and yes, it was a very good shot, Murray had nothing but daylight to track the play.

The Anderson goal... first off, it wasn't that great of a shot. It wasn't a muffin, but it didn't have the velocity of the 2nd Caufield goal. Also, while this did come during a turnover, in game-time-speed, Murray had plenty of time to react. If you don't think he did, then you might need to question how you understand the game and I honestly don't mean that as an attack, but I think you may not realize how three seconds in NHL is like thirty seconds in real life time. The time between the turnover and Anderson getting control and shooting the puck really wasn't that sudden.

And as I said earlier, well I think it was in this thread, glove side goals are by far the most commonly scored goals in the NHL, so stating that, Murray has one of the worst glove sides there is of a starting goalie and teams know that.

EDIT: What I will add is that it's still so soon to see if Murray is going to find his form. It's game 1 and Leafs fans, unsurprisingly, are freaking out already. Leafs fans should at least give him 20 games to see who he is with this team.

Was only talking about the 4th goal. I did say that he should have had the 2nd in another post. But Cole is going to fool a lot of goalies, vast majority of NHLers have great shots but his shot is special

Regarding the Anderson's goal, I have no idea how you are able to say "it wasn't that great of a shot"... I mean it's a wrist shot from a NHLer at probably a minimum of 80 mph from only 29 feet out. The puck went post and in, it was perfectly placed. And like I explained, broken play from a turnover right in the slot and screened by his own D-man. A save here would have been a highlight reel save. Like I also said in another post, I have been in a similar situation a million times. It's a very hard save to make even though my glove has always been one of my strengths

LOL at "you might need to question how you understand the game"

Pretty clear you're just another fan who never played goalie and think he has any idea how it works. I have seen these a million times too. And pretty sure it was LESS than 3 seconds. But whatever it was not even an important point. The screen and shot location were way more important. Oh and as I forgot to mention in the first post, it was very well placed as well. A shot inside of the post is hard to stop when the shot comes from the middle of the ice. You have to anticipate and cheat. But how would you know all that? lol

This is astounding that some people think this is a bad goal. Even more astounding when these people tell you you have to rethink how much you understand the game




It's not anything new, it was already his weakness when he was burning the AHL or winning Cups as a rookie. I couldn't say everything in the same post but here's another thing I said elsewhere :

30% of NHL goals are scored in the highest part of the net. Out of these, 80% are scored glove side. This is the "weakness" for the vast majority of goalies. More news at 11

Don’t panic about Murray after one game.

I agree, we will be an amazing regular season team, but come playoff time, Denis Malgin will learn why he went back to Europe