Leafs’ Matt Murray wins emotional victory after 21-month absence

BUFFALO, NY — Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray felt the tingle as he made sure to take in the moment during pregame warmups and the national anthem before making his first NHL start in nearly 21 months.

The 30-year-old two-time Stanley Cup winner felt an even bigger wave of emotion come over him as the final horn sounded, and Murray was booed by his teammates after his 25-save performance in a 6-3 win over Buffalo Sabers Friday night.

“A big release,” Murray said as he came to the realization of the grueling work he’s put into spending much of the last year rehabbing from bilateral hip surgery.

“I think I took it as a challenge. It was a long road, a big mountain to climb,” Murray said. “But I kept this moment in the front of my mind on the days when it felt hard.”

Murray is best known for opening his career with Pittsburgh, where he won two Cups, including his rookie season in 2015-16 when he posted a 15-6 record in the playoffs.

Friday’s win was the 147th of Murray’s career and the first since a 33-save outing in Toronto’s 6-2 win over Florida on March 23, 2023. His last start came two days later in a loss at Carolina, while also had a mop-up outing in a backup role a week later in a loss to Detroit.

Otherwise, Murray spent much of the past calendar year wondering if he would ever play another NHL game again while regaining form with the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate. He closed last season 1-2 in three starts and had a 4-1-2 record, including a shutout, when Toronto called him up Friday, with Anthony Stolarz sidelined four to six weeks after undergoing knee surgery.

Coach Craig Berube expressed confidence in Murray before the game, saying “he still has a fire inside.”

Afterwards, Berube congratulated Murray for being cool and composed.

“I didn’t notice too much emotion or anything like that. He was pretty dialed in,” Berube said. “It’s a big commitment he made to want to come back and play in the NHL. Went through a lot and very happy for him.”

Murray made several key stops in the first two periods and got a boost from Toronto’s offense by building a 5-1 lead over the slumping Sabres, who dropped to 0-9-3 in their last 12.

Murray also got a pair of assists from the officials, who disallowed two goals.

Alex Tuch’s goal, which would have tied the game at 1 early in the first period, was disallowed when a linesman ruled Buffalo’s Jason Zucker high-kicked Toronto Chris Tanev into the zone. Zucker was issued a double-less sentence for taking blood.

Owen Power then had a goal disallowed that would have cut the lead to 5-4 with 3:26 remaining. However, Toronto successfully challenged Buffalo’s Sam Lafferty for goaltender interference. Replays showed Lafferty’s skate hit Murray’s stick just before Power scored on a shot from the right point.

“I had no chance,” Murray said of the second disallowed goal. “I certainly hoped they would make the right call. I think they did.”

Maple Leafs players praised Murray for his performance and resilience, knowing what the goaltender has endured.

“Mentally looking in every single day for so long, it’s unbelievable,” forward Max Domi said. “These are things that you as members of the media and fans don’t see, but we do as players. And I think it’s inspiring for us. We all look up to him and we’re super happy for him.”