Samsonov earned his second shutout of the season, stopping all 32 shots from the Jets.
Samsonov earned his second shutout of the season, stopping all 32 shots from the Jets.
If there was any game for Ilya Samsonov to give himself the belt, it would be on Wednesday night.
And that's indeed what happened.
The Maple Leafs didn't have their best game against one of the league's best teams. For the first half of the game, they struggled to keep up with the Winnipeg Jets at five-on-five.
Though in every instance, Samsonov stood tall, he stood sharp, and most importantly, he didn't allow a puck to cross the goal line. He was impenetrable.
And when the Maple Leafs needed a goal most, their leading goalscorer, Auston Matthews, got it done as the clock inched closer to zero in overtime.
The Maple Leafs struggled against the Jets at five-on-five in the opening frame. Winnipeg kept coming in waves, making Toronto give up the puck a ton.
The Jets entered the first intermission with 16 shots for, the exact amount Samsonov stopped in their game on Sunday night against the Seattle Kraken. Toronto went into the first intermission with a 25.98 xGF% at five-on-five, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
Although it was a similar period at five-on-five in the second, Toronto limited Winnipeg to just three shots.
But that's not what anyone within Scotiabank Arena was talking about during the second intermission, though.
Everyone inside the rink — and everyone at home watching the game, I'm sure — was raving about the massive save Samsonov made after Maple Leafs allowed a 2-on-0 while on the power play.
No one would have guessed that this would happen if you asked them two weeks ago, but here we are. After making another save and stopping play, fans got on their feet and gave Samsonov a standing ovation, while also chanting, "Sammy! Sammy!"
Maple Leafs head coach didn't like the fact that the first power play unit let that happen. So, when Toronto got their next power play, Keefe elected to play the second unit for almost the entire man advantage.
Safe to say he was not happy with his top guys.
The third period would bring more back and forth play from both sides, ultimately forcing overtime. Toronto entered overtime on the penalty kill and were able to kill it off to return to three-on-three.
And when they did, the game finished.
Morgan Rielly fed the puck in front and Matthews was able to get a stick on it, putting it past Laurent Brossoit, for his 39th goal of the season.
Samsonov coasted to the dressing room as the game's first star, stopping all 32 shots he faced, giving Maple Leafs fans a lot to discuss on their commute home on a Wednesday night.
When Toronto got back to the room, Samsonov insisted in giving the game belt to Matthews. However, Matthews gave it right back to the Maple Leafs' netminder because of his incredible play against the Jets.
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