Ilya Samsonov’s Road Shutout Against Senators Should End Maple Leafs Playoff Starter Debate
Ilya Samsonov showed once and for all that that he can play just as well on the road as he has at home. The Maple Leafs goaltender made 31 saves for his fourth shutout of the season.
KANATA, Ont. — Ilya Samsonov has dominated in goal at Scotiabank Arena this season, but hadn't been as sharp away from the Toronto Maple Leafs' home rink, posting a mediocre 6-7-1 record and .892 save percentage.
His teammate, Matt Murray, has better numbers on the road with a 9-6-1 and .915 save percentage. For this reason alone, it left the door to some debate about Toronto's goaltending plans for the playoffs.
On Saturday, Samsonov made 31 saves on 31 shots at Canadian Tire Centre to pick up his fourth shutout of the season. By doing so, he effectively ended any debate about who Toronto's starting goaltender should be for the playoffs.
[gallery ids="5264,5265,5266,5267,5268"]
"They had the better of the chances tonight and he was excellent," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Samsonov's effort.
The Russian goaltender called the win special, the first one since the birth of his son, Miroslav, last week.
"Last time we played we lost in OT. I needed to get back on track, winning track. I get some extra focus for today," Samsonov said.
What made Samsonov’s win so impressive is not only did he put the silly home vs. road theory to bed, he did so by putting on one of his best performances of the season while Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares were held off the scoresheet.
It’s the type of goaltending performance the Leafs had been searching for in these types of situations. In games where neither team was giving the other much in terms of chances at the net, Samsonov had to be flawless.
When the 26-year-old Samsonov was away from the team on paternal leave, Murray had a chance to make his case for the net. The two-time Stanley Cup champion was ok, but made mistakes at inopportune moments.
In his last start, Murray allowed four goals in a 5-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, leading Keefe to point out the goaltender's shortcomings.
"I thought he did a good job for us. But of course, it's difficult to win with any sort of regularity if you have to score more than four," Keefe said. "Matt's got to find a way to keep one or two of those out."
The script could have easily flipped with Toronto struggling to generate much at Ottawa’s net, but Samsonov stood tall, especially in the second period when Jake Sanderson had a wide-open look at Toronto’s net, only to have Samsonov just get his right pad on it.
“I felt the touches but I didn’t know where the puck was,” Samsonov said of the play. “I’m just trying to stay. “Gio (Mark Giordano) asked me ‘where is puck?’ and I told him I don’t know.”
With .916 save percentage, Samsonov is on pace to finish with his best season yet. He posted his career-high 25th win on Saturday and has been Toronto’s most consistent goaltender, both with his performance in goal, and perhaps more importantly, his availability.
When the Maple Leafs signed Samsonov to a one-year, $1.8 million contract in July, it came as a relief to fans who were rightfully concerned about the risk Toronto had taken two days prior by acquiring the oft-injured Murray. You can certainly make the case that signing Samsonov was Dubas’ best off-season move.
Murray may still be counted on if Samsonov shows any post-season struggles, but given all the data points, there is no plausible reason at this time why the Russian goaltender, Toronto’s first in franchise history, doesn’t get the nod for the club’s opening game of the 2023 playoffs.
Related