Matt Murray and Matthew Murray combine for three AHL shutouts over perfect weekend
It was a good weekend to be a Matt Murray.
In a one-of-a-kind three-day span, two goaltenders with the same name – Toronto Marlies goaltender Matt Murray and Matthew Murray of the Milwaukee Admirals – combined to earn shutouts in all three games to form a perfect record.
Toronto’s Murray stopped all 55 shots sent his way by the Manitoba Moose this past weekend for his second and third shutouts of the campaign. The 30-year-old veteran has a 7-4-3 record with a .933 save percentage in his first full season back playing hockey after injuries limited him to just three American League starts in 2023-24. Murray has also played two games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, which included a 6-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 20 – his first NHL win since March 23, 2023.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins has been a standout AHL goaltender whenever he has spent time back in the minors. He has a career record of 54-27-8 with 19 shutouts over 91 games. He’s tied for 21st in all-time league shutouts and is tied for the most over the past decade. That’s the case despite playing 274 NHL games over 10 years, where he has 15 career shutouts with Toronto, Pittsburgh and the Ottawa Senators.
Milwaukee’s Murray, meanwhile, turned away all 30 shots from the Texas Stars on Sunday in his only start of the weekend. It was his first goose egg of the season, just the sixth of his career, also in 91 games. Murray has a 10-7-6 record in his first season with the Admirals, sharing the net – and often outplaying – Magnus Chrona.
Murray has played four NHL games to date, all with the Dallas Stars from 2022-24. Murray registered a shutout in his lone game last season, stopping all 23 shots the Minnesota Wild fired his way. He has yet to play a game with the Nashville Predators after signing to a one-year, league-minimum contract over the summer.
Before turning pro, the 26-year-old won gold at the 2015 World Junior A Challenge, won top goaltender in the CJHL that same season, and won back-to-back Hockey East titles in the NCAA, capping it off with a national championship in 2021.
Back on Oct. 12, the two Murray’s won AHL games on the same day for the first time ever.