No Matt Murray as Ottawa Senators face Toronto Maple Leafs twice

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TORONTO — The Ottawa Senators will have to wait and see Matt Murray.

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Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed Friday that the former Senators goaltender will not start any of the split team’s games Saturday at Scotiabank Arena to kick off the National Hockey League’s preseason. and that he wouldn’t even be on the bench.

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Instead, Keefe will turn to Erik Kalligren in Game 1 for the 1 p.m. start and Ilya Samsonov in Game 2 at 7 p.m. Murray is battling for the No. 1 spot in Toronto, but won’t play until the Leafs face the Montreal Canadiens at home next week.

Keefe noted that with two games in one day, every player in the organization would likely have a chance to dress on Saturday. A doubleheader is unusual, but it’s also a good opportunity to assess.

“It’s something that Kyle (Dubas, Leafs general manager) I talked about,” Keefe said. “One of the things that happens in pre-season is the volume of games you want to be in because you have a lot of guys wanting to compete for spots.

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“A lot of players want to play these games because they want to compete. The more games you play, the fewer days you can practice. The idea of ​​a doubleheader was discussed and we were able to make it work with Ottawa.

DONOVAN AT THE FOLD

The Senators signed a defenseman Jorian Donovan to an entry-level Friday deal.

A fifth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in July, Donovan will return to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League later in camp, but he’s made a good impression.

“He’s competitive and will be a defender that Hamilton (OHL) will rely on in all situations this season,” said the Ottawa general manager. Pierre Dorion said Friday. “An athletic player who skates well, signing Jorian today is an important step for the future of the organization.”

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Donovan, 18, son of Senators director of player development Shean Donovan, was delighted to accept the deal.

“It’s something you work for every year,” said Donovan, who credited his coaches for helping him take this next step. “I’m happy to be part of the Senators now. I’m just excited to be here with my family in Ottawa to celebrate.

Donovan said the past few months have been a whirlwind. He helped the Bulldogs advance to the Memorial Cup final last spring.

“It’s been a little stressful,” he said. “It was fun and there were a lot of learning experiences. I got to see and meet a lot of nice people and learned a lot over the past few months. As much as it was fun, it was just as stressful.

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Shean Donovan played 951 games in his NHL career, so he was able to impart some knowledge to Jorian on what it takes to play at this level. He will face the Leafs.

“He deserved it”, head coach DJ Smith said. “He was one of our best guys at rookie games. I was a bit shocked when he dropped in the draft knowing the kid. I watched it from minor midget hockey and up. It just proves that it doesn’t matter where you’re chosen

“I think our organization sees a really athletic kid who has the ability to gain weight and improve. He lived it all his life because his father played almost 1,000 games in the NHL.

“If you want to ask me about a kid who has a chance to play, I think he has a chance.”

A NEW LOOK

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Goalkeeper Cam Talbot just finished the fourth season of stranger things on Netflix when it was distributed to the Senators by the Minnesota Wild in July.

Big fan of the show, its mask designer David Gunnarsson of Sweden-based DaveArt decided it might be interesting to use an image from the mystery series on Talbot’s new mask in Ottawa.

“It just worked. It’s kind of a weird show and the red, black and white just worked with the team,” Talbot said. “I threw it to Dave Gunnarsson, who does all my masks and he hadn’t done it yet, so he put something together. There will be a second bucket coming out soon.

While he was the New York Rangers from 2013 to 2015, Talbot wore a Ghostbusters-themed mask.

“The Ghostbusters mask was never my idea. It was all Dave. He always wanted to do a Ghostbusters theme, and when I played in New York, it took on a life of its own,” Talbot said. “I think this is the first time in 11 years that I haven’t had a Ghostbusters themed mask.

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“There might be an uproar over that one because people seem to like it, but I think it was time for a change.”

THE LAST WORDS

Talbot will get his first look at the Battle of Ontario on Saturday. He played in the Battle of Alberta while he was with the Edmonton Oilers, so he’s thrilled.

“These inter-provincial rivalries are always fun,” Talbot said. “I grew up watching Toronto and Ottawa all the time. There was nothing better than sitting on the couch with my dad and watching the game. Being part of this now after participating in the Battle of Alberta is going to be a lot of fun.

Talbot said he grew up as a Montreal fan because of a legendary goalie Patrick Roy.

“It didn’t really matter to me who was winning,” added Talbot.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/sungarrioch