Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed Ilya Samsonov’s return to the lineup after he missed his last scheduled start with an illness. Conor Timmins will draw back in.
CHICAGO — Ilya Samsonov will return to the lineup when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
Samsonov took part in the team's optional skate on Saturday after he missed Friday's practice with an illness. The Leafs had called up Erik Kallgren on an emergency basis to back up goaltender Joseph Woll, who made 29 saves in a 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens.
Both Samsonov and Woll would have likely split the games on back-to-back nights, and hence the Russian goaltender will get the nod on Sunday.
The 25-year-old Samsonov is 19-6-2 with a .918 save percentage this season.
The only change to Toronto's lineup from Saturday apart freon the goaltender will see Conor Timmins come in for Rasmus Sandin.
"He took a bump that he was able to play through yesterday and finished the game here," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "Just given the quick turnaround and the fact that we would like to keep Timmins involved, it was just an easy way for us to give Rasmus the day today to recover."
Keefe didn't give specifics when talking about Sandin's ailment, but he was seen grabbing his wrist in pain at the end of the first period of Saturday's game.
The Leafs head coach said they aren't expecting Sandin to miss "any real time."
Sandin has four goals and 16 assists in 51 games this season. Timmins has played just one game since Jan. 27 but recently signed a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension. He scored a goal in his return to the lineup on Wednesday when the Leafs and Blackhawks last met.
Leafs to wear black Justin Bieber-designed flipside jerseys
Toronto will wear their black jerseys for just the second time on the road this season. The Leafs last wore them away from Scotiabank Arena on Oct. 29 at Crypto.com Arena.
In addition to the game in LA, the Leafs previously announced three additional dates to wear the alternate jersey, but Sunday's game against the Blackhawks was not one of them. A source tells SI.com that they could wear these the Justin Bieber designed jersey as many as eight times this season.