Always great for a quote, the affable Ilya Samsonov was not made available when requested for an interview following the Toronto Maple Leafs overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3. Turns out, that was by design.
Goaltending has been a storyline for the Toronto Maple Leafs all season long. Over the last few days, it has been a feel-good story for Ilya Samsonov, who bounced back after getting pulled in Game 1 of his team's playoff series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, only to help his team pick up wins in Game 2 and 3.
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But after Samsonov's 36-save performance in a 4-3 overtime win against the Lightning on Saturday, the goaltender was not made available to speak to the media, despite regularly doing so after a victory.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about the change and offered an interesting response.
"Have you been talking to (Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei) Vasilevskiy in this series?" Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe replied when asked why Samsonov didn't speak.
When Toronto Star reporter Kevin McGran followed up that Toronto-based media don't usually go speak to Tampa players following the game (media availabilities for both teams occur simultaneously), Keefe responded.
"Let's just let them play goal."
It's important to note that Samsonov wasn't specifically requested to speak on Saturday, but there was an expectation that he would. It's possible the Maple Leafs may be looking to avoid any potential bulletin board material for Tampa given Samsonov is still learning English and the words may not come out as intended. Funny and refreshingly honest, the Russian goaltender has a tendency to lighten up any room, no matter whom he's speaking to.
"He's actually really funny with some of the things he does," Matthew Knies said of Samsonov. "Just the way he chats and moves around the rink, it's so Russian I don't know how to explain it. It's funny."
The Russian goaltender picked up his first career playoff overtime victory after coming out on the losing end of sudden death in his previous three attempts.
Samsonov enjoyed a career year with the Maple Leafs, posting a 27-10-5 record and a career-best .919 save percentage. Expected to compete with goaltender Matt Murray for reps this season, the Russian goaltender beat out Murray based on a combination of performances and a lack of availability for the oft-injured two-time Stanley Cup champion.
The 26-year-old is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. He signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with Toronto in July, just days after his former team, the Washington Capitals, elected not to tender the goaltender a qualifying offer that would have retained his NHL playing rights.
Toronto leads Tampa in 2-1 in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series with Game 4 set for Monday at Amalie Arena.
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