The Toronto Marlies pulled off a 3-0 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday with goaltender Matt Murray recording a shutout.

He recorded the third shutout of the season for the Marlies after Artur Akhtyamov got the first two. This was Murray’s first shutout in the AHL since December 11, 2015, when he blanked the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as a member of the Penguins. The last time he recorded a shutout in his hockey career was on December 6, 2022, when he stopped all 44 shots he faced against the Dallas Stars.

Murray turned aside 27 shots in Wednesday’s game over the Penguins to improve the Marlies record to 14-4-2-2 which is good enough for sixth in the East. Following the game, he now has a record of 4-1-2 along with an incredible 1.85 GAA and a .931 SV% which is good enough for sixth in the AHL.

“That’s encouraging,” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said after the Leafs game against the Stars. “That’s great for him and the Marlies. And this guy’s got a lot of experience, and he’s won. So, we’re gonna look at everything and make some decisions.”

Should he keep up this strong play then the Leafs will be inclined to clear the path for him to make his triumphant return to the NHL nearly two years after his last game. TSN’s Chris Johnston reported on Tuesday that the team wants to see Murray get into some games after he returned from an injury before potentially calling him up.

“He’s been down in the AHL this year and recently returned, from what was described to me, as a minor injury,” he said. “So the Leafs want to see him get a few more starts there. He’ll start Wednesday for the Marlies in Wilkes-Barre. Assuming everything goes well, I do think that everything is in place for Murray to get a chance to come back to the NHL after more than a year away.”

Suffice it to say that Murray made a huge statement with his shutout that he is eager to make it back to the best league in the world. Performances like this one could help give solace that he can provide some relief to the Leafs while they weather the storm in the wake of Anthony Stolarz’s injury.

One day after being reassigned to the Marlies, Fraser Minten scored in his first game back in the AHL.

As the Marlies were cycling the puck behind the net, Minten parked himself in the crease in an attempt to get in position to knock in the loose puck. Forward Joseph Blandisi saw the crowd emerge and opted to fire it into the scene which went off Minten’s leg and into the net to put an exclamation mark on the night.

Minten was slotted on the second line with Nikita Grebenkin and Alex Nylander, all three of whom were on the Leafs roster a little over a week ago. He went on to record four shots on the night and finished with a +1 to bring his AHL totals to five points (three goals and two assists) in six games.

There is no doubt that he has shown a lot in the NHL to warrant an extended look, but there is no shame in him getting some heavy minutes in the AHL for the time being. Strong play like this will make it so that the next time he gets called up to the Leafs he never returns to the Marlies.

Roni Hirovonen and Alex Steeves got the other two goals for the Marlies in this contest. Steeves’ goal gives him 15 on the season which is good enough for tied for third in the AHL while he leads his team in scoring with 23 points in 16 games. The Marlies’ all-time leading scorer should continue to be high on the recall list for the Leafs should they run into injuries up front and his impressive start to the season reflects that.

Next up for the Marlies is a back-to-back on the road, with the Phantoms on Friday and the Hershey Bears on Saturday.

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