Leafs quick to announce starter for tomorrow against Pittsburgh

Since returning from an adductor injury in the middle of November, Matt Murray is 4-0-1 with a .921 save percentage and has made some ridiculous, game-saving stops in the process. That includes the one in the dying seconds of Friday's game against the Wild on Kirill Kaprizov.

Friday marks Murray's fifth game in 10 days and with the Leafs scheduled to play the Penguins tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, many wondered if Murray would play back-to-back, much like Kallgren did a couple of short weekends ago. Following the win against the Wild, Sheldon Keefe was quick to announce that Erik Kallgren will start tomorrow.

As much as the Leafs may want Murray to start, that would be his sixth game in 11 days after not playing for a month and a half. That's surely no way to help him stay healthy, so going with Kallgren makes sense.

Kallgren is coming off of an overtime loss to the Islanders on Monday, which he was directly responsible for with a bad giveaway late that led to the tying goal. He will be looking to rebound against a Pens team that will also be playing its second game in as many nights.


It's not pretty but Kallgren's 2-2-4 record has at least helped the Leafs secure a few extra points, which could be all the difference between a Wild Card matchup and playing Tampa or Boston in the first round when all is said and done.