Keefe: Leafs hung Murray 'out to dry' vs. Habs

Matt Murray was credited with the loss in his Toronto Maple Leafs debut after allowing four goals on 23 shots.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was quick to defend Murray post-game though, calling out his team for allowing the Canadiens to play to their strengths in the 4-3 loss.

"I thought our guys hung [Murray] out to dry," Keefe said. "It's one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL on the rush. Ever since their coaching change last year, they have established themselves as one of the most dangerous teams on the rush. (Cole) Caufield, (Josh) Anderson … these guys are some of the most dangerous shooters there are off of transition, and we talked about that this morning.

"We talked about it before the game and fed right into it."

Toronto fell behind 3-2 with less than three minutes remaining in Wednesday's game before William Nylander tied the game just 40 seconds after Sean Monahan had given Montreal their first lead of the night. Anderson scored the game-winner with less than 20 seconds left in regulation, beating Murray on the glove side.

"It takes a couple bounces, it ends up right on their tape in the slot," Murray said of the goal. "I didn't see the release, and the guy put it post-and-in, so just a bit of bad luck there."

Murray was acquired in July when the Ottawa Senators traded a 2023 third-round draft pick, a 2024 seventh-round pick and retained 25 per cent of Murray's salary to move him to Toronto in July. The Leafs will pay the goaltender $4.68 million over the next two years as he plays out that deal.

Keefe 'expects more' from Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs head coach was far from pleased with his team's opener as the enter another season with lofty expectations.

“There was nothing wrong with our effort, it was just careless,” said Keefe. “I expect more, our group should expect more. It was not good enough.”

"It was a tough one to swallow in the last few minutes," captain John Tavares added. "We give one up, we tie it, we give one up again. It's disappointing. We have to learn from it quick, get back in front of 'Leafs Nation' tomorrow and feed off our fans and bounce back."

The Maple Leafs will be back on the ice for their home opener on Thursday against the Washington Capitals.

Viewers in the Maple Leafs region can watch that game LIVE on TSN4 and TSN.ca with coverage starting at 7pm ET/4pm PT.