How does Murray rate as a puck handler?

[Penske]

I don't tense up when he goes behind the net or when he handles the puck. I don't really notice him do it that much. If he improves great but not really an area he needs to work on.

I cringe every time Fleury goes behind the net. His handling doesn't always lead to goals or chances but he definetly gives the opposition more of a opportunity.

 

[Brandinho]

There is nothing really remotely special about how Murray plays.. and that isn't a knock on him at all.

I understand what you're saying, but I think that's selling him short. There may not be anything special about individual physical components of his game (i.e. he's not outrageously athletic nor does he stand out in terms of how well he plays the puck), but he does nearly everything well and combines it with a remarkably strong mental approach. He's the classic example of a goalie being more than the sum of his parts, which in and of itself is special.

 

[ncm7772]

To be honest Murray reminds me of Vokoun in a lot of ways.

This. And that's a great thing.

 

[Woodrow]

He plays it safe and doesn't panic when there is a forechecker barring down on him. He doesn't make the spectacular passes/plays but I haven't seen him do anything stupid either when playing the puck. Overall just solid.

 

[3074326]

I've never seen him decide to go hiking through the wilderness while in the middle of the game like Fleury tends to do every game. So in my opinion he's the GOAT puck handler.

 

[Cherpak]

3.0. He's smart with the puck, doesn't overplay it. Usually knows when to come out of the net and when to let the puck go around the boards.

He's no Hextall/Brodeur/Barrasso for sure but he's eons better than Fleury.

 

[Pancakes]

3.0. He's smart with the puck, doesn't overplay it. Usually knows when to come out of the net and when to let the puck go around the boards.

He's no Hextall/Brodeur/Barrasso for sure but he's eons better than Fleury.

The sad thing is Maf should be a better puckhandler than Murray. Maf is a faster skater for sure and is more agile.

Yet as with the rest of his game his puckhandling is undone by what is between his ears.

 

[JTG]

Yeah, he's average. I think he has the ability to get better. With how we move the puck and skate, it'd be nice to have a goaltender like Dipietro who was able to set up a rush before his defensemen even came back to pick the puck up.

 

[Cherpak]

The sad thing is Maf should be a better puckhandler than Murray. Maf is a faster skater for sure and is more agile.

Yet as with the rest of his game his puckhandling is undone by what is between his ears.

If only Fleury could have a brain transplant. Its whats always gotten in his way from being that top tier goaltender. Physically there is none better even at 32 yrs old. Mentally a whole other story as we all know all too well.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Like a lot of Fleury's game, his actually skill level is better than he actually looks/plays. He can, physically, play the puck very well. Just like he can, physically, be a great goaltender. Unfortunately for him, there is a very integral mental component to both of those, and that's where his game breaks down. As others have said on here, all the tools and no tool box.

Wrong. Fleury very frequently would put 10' passes into the skates of his D or even behind them. That's in addition to how often he would fumble a puck on basic goaltender stick handling moves behind the net. Like many other aspects of his game, he is well below average at puck-handling.

Literally every physical movement a goalie makes originates from the human brain, so chalking up all of the shortcomings to the "mental component" is just another way of partially excusing something (else) that he sucks at.

 

[Creativero]

He's making look bad when I try to give the guy a complement. On the bright side he's now tied with Maatta in points despite the missing some time with injury.

 

[mgd525]

We all jinxed the **** out of Murray saying he never makes a mistake playing the puck lol.

 

[Shady Machine]

We all jinxed the **** out of Murray saying he never makes a mistake playing the puck lol.

Yes we did.

 

[Captain Hook]

Yeah, that play last night was pretty bad. Either we jinxed him or he's been taking too much puck handling advice from our old friend MAF. Flower probably thinks Murray played that 3rd goal flawlessly. Perfect execution straight out of the MAF puck handling playbook.

 

[Syrinx]

I like the Dilfer comparison. He doesn't make stupid mistakes that lead to turnovers that cost his team the game. He's smart about when to stay and when to go....maybe a Clash fan?

 

[HandshakeLine]

There are a lot of words being used incorrectly in these posts. I'm getting everyone dictionaries fo Christmas.