GARRIOCH: Matt Murray needs to find consistency to help Ottawa Senators succeed

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The Ottawa Senators were hoping for a net profit when they acquired Matt Murray from the Pittsburgh Penguins just over a year ago.

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In his thirteen-month career with the Senators, the veteran goalkeeper is still looking for consistency.

That was never more apparent than in the club’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night at the United Center when he allowed five goals on 31 shots. No, Murray didn’t get much help from his defenders, but he has to make a save or two to keep the Senators in the game.

While Murray excelled in the second period when the senators were outscored 15-6 and seemed uninterested in putting up the battle it took to win, two goals in 55 seconds from Chicago’s Brandon Hagel and Patrick Kane to start the third were particularly bad. in such a short stretch.

No, there was nothing the 27-year-old could do in the second of Kane’s game, but Hagel’s was one that Murray should have had and even he admitted that in his post-game press conference. In terms of hockey, it was a setback and the game went downhill from there.

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Hagel fired a shot through traffic to make the 3-0 Murray had to stop, and he knew it.

“Honestly, that third (goal) is kind of a killer. If that doesn’t fit in, then we don’t have to open up as much and we can stick to our structure and keep playing, ”Murray said. That third is on me. If that doesn’t fit, maybe it’s a different game. I thought that was the turning point. “

Coach DJ Smith’s decision to start Murray was met with outcry from the fan base after Filip Gustavsson, who started Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center, stopped 38 of 39 shots in the club’s 4-1 victory over Dallas. Stars on Friday to start this journey.

The thought was that Smith should stick with the hot hand and go straight back to Gus The Bus.

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“Our attention to goal will be fine, we have to take care of things away from them,” Smith said Tuesday night.

It made sense to go with Murray because the Hawks hadn’t won in nine straight games with a 0-7-2 record, had been plagued by bad goals and had trouble scoring. All of those problems were solved thanks to Kane’s hat trick and two goals from Hagel, along with a solid effort from Marc-André Fleury.

“You want (Murray) to feel good about his game and you want to put him in a situation where you hope he can get on a roll,” TSN analyst Jamie McLennan, a former NHL goalkeeper, said Tuesday from St. Paul. . Minn. “It makes sense to start it up front, with a fresh team against a team that has been struggling.

“I can see the logic and the theory behind this.”

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Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as Smith, Murray, or the senators would have hoped. To Smith’s credit, he cleared Murray of guilt by pointing out that the club was badly off against him. That was certainly the case.

“In the third period, we gave them some Grade A (scoring opportunities). We had some guys that didn’t quite come back and we gave up a lot of free glances, ”Smith said. “When Kane is on the ice, you have to be aware of it and he had too many free glances.”

Murray is the best goalkeeper in the club and they brought him in from the Penguins to help take this team to another level because he played a key role in winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.

Since then, he has battled injuries and the inconsistency has prevented Murray from having the kind of success the club hoped for.

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Smith reportedly followed the advice of goalkeeping coach Zac Bierk before making the decision to start Murray against the Hawks. We’ll have to see what the outcome was in Minnesota before we see who’s in goal Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

McLennan noted that when the trade happened and Murray signed a four-year deal worth $ 6.25 million per season, there would be an adjustment period, whether people like it or not.

McLennan said there is nothing Murray can do about injuries and he is confident that he will find his game.

“New team, rebuilding, finding its base,” McLennan said. “You are coming to a place where there are children who learn at work, you are going to have to learn at work and there are many moving parts. What you need to do is keep growing with the kids, and that’s the challenge for Matt Murray.

“The injuries are unfortunate, but you also knew that there would be inconsistency with all young children. There were potholes in the road and that has worked out perfectly. As the team comes out with more experience and more growth, and as (GM) Pierre (Dorion) continues to add to the team, Matt has to keep growing with them.

“That is the biggest challenge for Matt.”

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Twitter: @sungarrioch