Kevin Francis: New look Ottawa Senators finally get to prove their worth in Buffalo

Betting against the Leafs with Murray in goal is money. I am sure Sens fans loved watching Murray blow it so bad in the third period.

Betting against the Leafs with Murray in goal is money. I am sure Sens fans loved watching Murray blow it so bad in the third period.
- PuckPix

I sure did.

I sure did.
- Garfield512

Hell ya you did, nothing like seeing the Leafs reeling after the first game of the season lol.

Hell ya you did, nothing like seeing the Leafs reeling after the first game of the season lol.
- PuckPix

Definitively didn't expect to win that game but we'll take anything we can get this year.

Sens should make some noise this year.

I really enjoyed Montreal's win over the Leafs. They might have a weaker D than Ottawa.

Montreal's D looked pretty good and I think we're going to get to dislike that Arber X guy when we finally play them. Maybe Dorion should do some scouting at Costco.

Another team with a really bad D is Edmonton. They won their game but looked pretty bad in their own zone all night.

Anyway it's comforting to know that Ottawa has a better D than two Canadian teams picked by the experts to go far this year.

Definitively didn't expect to win that game but we'll take anything we can get this year.

Sens should make some noise this year.
- Garfield512

Nice to see the Habs grab the win over Toronto. I hope the Sens make some noise this year.

I really enjoyed Montreal's win over the Leafs. They might have a weaker D than Ottawa.

Montreal's D looked pretty good and I think we're going to get to dislike that Arber X guy when we finally play them. Maybe Dorion should do some scouting at Costco.

Another team with a really bad D is Edmonton. They won their game but looked pretty bad in their own zone all night.

Anyway it's comforting to know that Ottawa has a better D than two Canadian teams picked by the experts to go far this year.
- Whatisavailable

Habs have a few rookies both at forward and D but at least they are taking advantage of the fact, that they have no expectations with the team. Unlike Ottawa last year and how bad DJ screwed up, he could've let JBD and Thomson play all year, let them gain the exp and know that the fans would be fine with it. MTL is going to do it the right way and allow their youth to gain exp.

Betting against the Leafs with Murray in goal is money. I am sure Sens fans loved watching Murray blow it so bad in the third period.
- PuckPix

If you look like at the highlights, 3 of the 4 goals were glove side.

If you look like at the highlights, 3 of the 4 goals were glove side.

- Kevin Francis

Murray, he is who we thought he was, Dennis Green famous quote when the Cards lost to the Bears. But this applies to this situation.

Definitively didn't expect to win that game but we'll take anything we can get this year.

Sens should make some noise this year.
- Garfield512

Habs deserved this win. good on them.

Habs have a few rookies both at forward and D but at least they are taking advantage of the fact, that they have no expectations with the team. Unlike Ottawa last year and how bad DJ screwed up, he could've let JBD and Thomson play all year, let them gain the exp and know that the fans would be fine with it. MTL is going to do it the right way and allow their youth to gain exp.
- Kevin Francis

Still pisses me off that Smith just out and out refused to play them. What a major bad decision!

Betting against the Leafs with Murray in goal is money. I am sure Sens fans loved watching Murray blow it so bad in the third period.
- PuckPix

So noodle me this. Dorion paid $1,562,500 to get Dubas to play Murray.

If Dorion was a Vegas odds maker, the league would be investigating him and Dubas for conspiring to fix a game.

Still pisses me off that Smith just out and out refused to play them. What a major bad decision!
- Whatisavailable

I have never thought that Smith was that important, one way or the other.

It is the same way that I think about most head coaches in most sports. Everyone believed the Patriots were led by a genius wizard. Then Brady moved to Tampa.

If the Sens stumble coming out of the gate this year...Smith loses his job before the 20 game mark.

If the Sens fight all season and squeeze into a playoff spot Smith is a finalist for the Jack Adams trophy.

Connor McDavid 3 goals and an assist as Edmonton comes back from being down 3-0 and wins 5-3 against Vancouver. Wow.

I sure did.
- Garfield512

I especially loved it after snagging Caufield in my draft this year.

Iam Mendes has his prediction thread that the Sens and Leafs would meet in the playoffs.

Almost feels too perfect a story. Sens make theh playoffs for the first time in years, with the chance to finally beat the Leafs, or the Leafs have a chance to win a round, agaist the team they would always beat.

I especially loved it after snagging Caufield in my draft this year.
- david22

Nice pick, the kid is quite a sniper ... we haven't had this in ages.

Murray gives up 4 goals on 23 shots.

Murray gives up 4 goals on 23 shots.
- spatso

Leafs D did him no favors, but that glove hand continues to be a problem

"Matt Murray was strong in his Leafs debut with 19 saves, but according to head coach Sheldon Keefe was hung out to dry by the club in front of him, who played disorganized"

Makes me wonder if maybe this is a reaction to try and head off panic in Leaf nation. Did I watch the same game? I thought Murray looked pretty much like Murray for most of his appearances with the Sens.

Murray gives up 4 goals on 23 shots.
- spatso

I remember watching a number of podcasts about Murray, and how several of the Leafs fans discussing the issue felt it would be reasonable to expect him to put up a .910 sv%. Well, he's off to a sparkling .826 start... on just 23 shots from the team that finished dead last in the NHL last season, no less. Plus, he gave up the lead twice in the last 3 minutes of the game. Even a 3-goal night would have been a .870 performance, on a night where he was facing zero pressure or game consequence... other than trying to make a good impression, which he very clearly didn't.

I said earlier in the summer that trading for Murray was one the most high-risk gambles I've ever seen a NHL GM take... especially after the team's infamous playoff disappointments, suffocating fan expectations, relentless media pressure, and the looming reality of the 2-year Matthews window. Nothing I saw last night changes my opinion of that in the least.

"Matt Murray was strong in his Leafs debut with 19 saves, but according to head coach Sheldon Keefe was hung out to dry by the club in front of him, who played disorganized"

Makes me wonder if maybe this is a reaction to try and head off panic in Leaf nation. Did I watch the same game? I thought Murray looked pretty much like Murray for most of his appearances with the Sens.
- spatso

The blinders aren't just on Murray, apparently. Whoever wrote the line "Matt Murray was strong in his Leafs debut" should be fired on the spot, because they clearly didn't watch the game, and are basically just projecting the story that 'must' be true in order to maintain the narrative. In fact, the Toronto-centric media has been doing acrobatics to insulate Murray from criticism from the day the trade was made. Virtually every analysis I've seen has either hugely downplayed their potential weakness in goal, or actively focused on just their impression of how good his attitude or conditioning has looked within the past few weeks. However, nothing changes the reality that he's been playing like absolute $hit for 3 years now, and apparently some people continue to want to believe otherwise.

The blinders aren't just on Murray, apparently. Whoever wrote the line "Matt Murray was strong in his Leafs debut" should be fired on the spot, because they're basically just projecting the story that 'must' be true in order to maintain the narrative. In fact, the Toronto-centric media has been doing acrobatics to insulate Murray from criticism from the day the trade was made. Virtually every analysis I've seen has either hugely downplayed their potential weakness in goal, or actively focused on just their impression of how good his attitude or conditioning has looked within the past few weeks. However, nothing changes the reality that he's been playing like absolute $hit for 3 years now, and apparently some people continue to want to believe otherwise.
- khawk

The entire story seems so unreal.

I thought it was a joke when I first heard that the Sens and Leafs were trying to structure a deal for Murray to be the #1 goalie in Toronto.

Last night, Murray looked exactly like he did for most of the games in Ottawa.

If the pattern continues he is likely injured in his next start.

Mind boggling.