Matt Murray throws himself under the bus

The good news is that the Toronto Maple Leafs were able to overcome their deficit at home against the Atlantic Division rival Florida Panthers, earning a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory thanks to the heroics in the extra session from forward William Nylander. 

The bad news is that starting goaltender Matt Murray struggled and was pulled for the first time since joining the Leafs. He surrendered four goals on just eight shots against, paving the way for Ilya Samsonov to take over. 

Said head coach Sheldon Keefe of his decision to yank Murray: 

"When I break down the goals… On the shorthanded goal against, he makes a save on the breakaway, and there is not a lot he can do — or anything he can do — on the second shot," he said. "The goal that I ended up pulling him on is a big-time shot by Barkov."

"For me, I am more pulling the goalie for our team. We just needed to change something. You can’t give up four goals on eight shots no matter how you shake it out. That was really it."

Meanwhile, Murray was candid about his performance.

“I do, yeah,” Murray said when asked if he understood Keefe's decision to remove him from the game. “It gave the team a huge spark. Sammy came in, played unbelievably well. We were able to turn the game around and get two points.

“I just have to be better," he continued. "That’s the bottom line. If I come up with a couple of those, it’s a much different game. I just think I just need to be better.”

The Leafs are next in action tomorrow night at Scotiabank Arena against the upstart Winnipeg Jets, who currently hold the best record in the Western Conference under new coach Rick Bowness. Game time is set for 7:00 PM EST.