Matt Murray | Photo: AP
Goaltender Matt Murray of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) will miss at least a month due to an injury, his team reports. Murray was scheduled to start in goal in Saturday’s home game against the Ottawa Senators, but the goaltender collided with coach Curtis Sanford during morning practice and suffered a groin injury.
On Saturday, Ilya Samsonov was in goal for Maple Leafs, who managed 26 of 28 shots from the opponents, helping to win 3:2 (0:1, 1:0, 2:1). Murray was in goal for the team in the first match of the season, where he managed 19 of 23 shots, but the Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-4.
Murray, 28, joined the Maple Leafs before this season from the Senators, where he spent the previous two seasons. Before that, the goalkeeper spent five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, becoming a two-time Stanley Cup winner (2016, 2017).
The Maple Leafs called up Swedish goaltender Erik Sjölgren from the American Hockey League (AHL) farm club Toronto Marlies over the weekend. The 26-year-old Swede made his NHL debut last season, playing 14 games in the regular season, making 88.8 percent of his shots and averaging 3.31 rebounds. Forwards Wayne Simonds, Nicholas Robertson and defenseman Victor Mete were also called up from the AHL on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals have agreed to a one-year contract with forward Sonia Milano, the team announced on Sunday. The contract was concluded for a minimum amount of 750,000 US dollars. Last season, the 26-year-old forward played for the Anaheim Ducks, where he set career highs in points (34) and assists (20) and matched his NHL best in goals scored (14).
Milano will reportedly be placed on the unprotected list to begin the season with the Capitals’ AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. Before the new season, Milano, who was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the 16th overall pick in the 2014 draft, signed a probationary contract with the Calgary Flames, but was released on October 6.
During his career, the forward played a total of 197 games in the regular NHL championship for the Blue Jackets and Ducks and collected 81 (36+45) points. Milano has not scored in four Stanley Cup games. In 2018, Milano won the bronze medal of the world championship together with the USA team.
