Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable
'We Need To Keep Him Involved': Maple Leafs' Sheldon Keefe Explains Decision to Start Martin Jones Against Senators on Saturday
After Ilya Samsonov started the last five games for the Maple Leafs, Martin Jones gets his first shot in net since Jan. 20.
KANATA, Ont. — The Toronto Maple Leafs were riding the momentum of Ilya Samsonov for the last five starts as the Russian goaltender found his groove again. But Martin Jones will get the net when the club visits the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.
"We need to keep him involved," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe explained. "At the same time, it gives Samsonov a couple of practice days here."
Jones last played on Jan. 20 when he allowed six goals on 21 shots in a 6-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Before that game, the goaltender was heavily relied upon as Samsonov struggled to find his game and Joseph Woll continued to recover from a high-ankle sprain sustained on Dec. 7.
It was here in Kanata when Woll sustained his injury and Jones made his Maple Leafs debut. Called up to serve as a backup to Woll due to a flu bug that took a bite out of Samsonov, Jones was thrust into duty and made nine saves on 10 shots in a 4-3 victory against the Senators.
Woll continues to practice and join his teammates for morning skate sessions and there is no firm timeline on when the goaltender may be healthy enough to return to game action. Jones has performed well for a goaltender who joined the Leafs as the third option in net. He boasts a 9-6-1 record with a .911 save percentage.
"He's done a really good job for us and got us through a tough period of time," Keefe said of Jones. "He needs to remain part of things especially as we are awaiting things with Joe Woll to come back."
The decision to rest Samsonov for this particular game makes sense. There was an incident during his start against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday when he was slow to get up after making a save. When asked about the particular play, he joked that he was just getting older. And while he's been able to continue to get some work in, it makes sense to give the Russian netminder a day off.
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