Samsonov had a rough four periods of hockey over the last couple of games but helped his team recover salvage a point.
Samsonov had a rough four periods of hockey over the last couple of games but helped his team recover salvage a point.
After allowing six goals against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, Ilya Samsonov talked about the importance of having a short memory.
But after allowing four goals in the opening period against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs netminder was nearly pulled in favor off Joseph Woll to start the second period.
"We discussed taking him out. It wasn't unanimous in there by any means about what to do with it. But I felt it was really important to-- I felt our team was going to be better. And I felt Sammy needed to be a part of that," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe revealed following his. team's 5-4 overtime loss. "I'm obviously glad that it worked out the way he did, because he was outstanding. And in the end, ultimately, to me, he's the reason why we get the extra point. Because he didn't let them get the next goal. Not that we get a point, I should say. He didn't let them get the next goal. But yeah, obviously glad the way the guys responded."
Samsonov seemed like a slam dunk to be the team's starting goaltender for Game 1 of the Leafs' first-round playoff series, but it certainly looked less clear after 20 minutes on Saturday. With two games remaining in the regular season, it's likely Samsonov and Woll will split the remaining games as they take place on back-to-back nights.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6XB4DiJ4EY[/embed]
"It's hard to comment on this," Samsonov said about his game on Saturday. "Second game like that for us. We need to still think about this, especially right now. Most important is how we get back to the game. It's nice, but we lost the point again. We have what we have right now."
After allowing 10 goals over his last 33 shots in against, Samsonov made 18 saves in overtime before Detroit's Dylan Larkin ended the with a power-play overtime winner.
The Leafs erased a 4-1 deficit after John Tavares scored the tying goal at 17:22 of the second period. After the goal, Tavares motioned over to Samsonov to point at him.
"I can't speak for him, but I think he'd agree. He's had to battle his way from a difficult start and even at times in games when things don't always go his way, you can just see how hard he's fighting and doing everything he can to give us a chance and make that next save," Tavares said of Samsonov. "And he certainly did that again today. So, you know, as a teammate and playing in front of him, you want to reward him for that and do a good job and acknowledge it when necessary."
Toronto's loss was more about how poorly the team played in most of that opening period. And while Samsonov's fourth goal allowed had a particular odor to it, the Leafs did not play well in front of him. Barring anything unforeseen, it'd be surprising not to see Samsonov in goal for Game 1.
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