Joseph Woll 'Pushing' for More Starts in Goal Over Ilya Samsonov After Picking up Win in Relief Against Lightning
Samsonov allowed three goals on four shots and Woll made 29 saves to help guide his team to a comeback victory.
TAMPA — Don't look now but the Toronto Maple Leafs may be in the middle of goaltending controversy.
Ilya Samsonov struggled in his fourth start of the season. After allowing three goals on the first four shots faced, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe elected to pull his goaltender in favor of rookie netminder Joseph Woll.
The Leafs were down 3-1 at the time of the pull and Woll had to be sharp to keep the game within reach for Toronto. It wasn't until midway through the third period when Max Domi twice found Matthew Knies to force overtime and John Tavares delivered the winner.
Woll played 50:36 of shutout hockey and made 29 saves in the process.
"He really kind of reminds me of Carey Price in his demeanor," Domi said of Woll's game. "He’s very calm and relaxed both on and off the ice. A big body and moves technically sound. I’m not a goalie coach by any means but he’s been outstanding."
After the game, Maple Leafs head coach revealed that there was a plan for Woll to get the start against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday and they will stick with that.
"We’ll keep building and stacking up good days," Keefe said while lauding Woll's efforts in practice. "I think that kind of sent a message to the group that he’s hungry and because of that work, he was ready for tonight even though he wasn’t supposed to play. That’s a really great sign for a young player and I’m really happy for him."
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Samsonov was beat clean on a pair of power-play goals from Nikita Kucherov and had difficulty handling Kucherov's feed to Alex Barre-Boulet.
When asked about the thought process behind the decision to pull Samsonov, Keefe kept his explanation brief.
"You can’t let in three goals on four shots. That’s it."
Keefe was also asked if Woll is pushing for more starts on this road trip, that will go to Washington, Dallas and end in Nashville, Keefe left the door wide open.
"Oh, he’s pushing. That’s it. That’s what you want. You want everybody pushing one another and that’s what we’ve got."
An independent arbitrator awarded Samsonov a one-year, $3.55 million contract this summer after a standout first season with the Maple Leafs that saw the goaltender post a .919 save percentage. But through four games, Samsonov has a save percentage of .831.
Woll, Toronto's third-round selection (62nd overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft, has long been thought of by staff to be their goaltender of the future. Based on what could be taking place, the Leafs may have no choice but to make him their goalie of now.
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