'Sammy's Fine He'll Play Tonight, Leave Me Alone': What Happened to Ilya Samsonov at the Maple Leafs Morning Skate?
Samsonov fell hard after blocking a shot at practice and immediately went to the Maple Leafs' locker room.
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to have avoided an injury to Ilya Samsonov after the goaltender left the team's optional morning skate in a hurry.
"Sammy's fine he'll play tonight, leave me alone," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said with a smile and got some laughs.
That begged a follow-up of if he the coach was serious.
"Am I ever not serious?" Keefe said.
Samsonov went down hard after making a save early in the team's morning skate ahead of their game against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Russian goaltender skated on his own and dropped his stick as he made his way to the Maple Leafs' locker room.
The goaltender was scheduled to make the start as Keefe elects to keep running with the hot netminder. Samsonov has won 10 of his last 11 starts and has posted a .933 save percentage through four starts in March.
"It’s a reflection of the whole picture," Keefe said of his decision to start Samsonov. "He’s been going really well that’s really it."
It's not the first time this season that Samsonov has had a false alarm when it comes to injuries. On Oct. 6, the goaltender blocked a shot from Calle Jarnkrok and wasn't able to return, only to be "fine" right after."
The Maple Leafs are carrying three goaltenders on their active roster. Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving briefed goaltender Joseph Woll on his way off the ice to apprise the goaltender if he needed to be ready to start but that doesn't appear to be the case now.
Woll has played in just three games since returning from a high-ankle sprain that kept him out of the lineup for more than two months. He was in goal for two games against the Boston Bruins where he posted a combined save percentage of .849.
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