Leafs’ Matt Murray Works on Goaltending Drills Before Morning Skate Don't expect to see Ilya Samsonov return this weekend. Already ruled out for Thursday's game against the New Jersey Devils, the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender is not expected to be an option for Saturday's game against the Buffalo Sabres, either. Samsonov, who has been out since Nov. 5 when he injured his knee against the Boston Bruins, has been skating with the club and joined the team on the road for an optional morning skate session ahead of their 5-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. "He skated here again today and I don't know how that went other than to say that he's still not 100 percent," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Thursday. "I wouldn't expect to see him through the weekend or anything like that." [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nm78daPxZQ[/embed] There was a sigh of relief when Samsonov injured his knee that it didn't appear to be as serious as initially feared. He was back on the ice within a couple of days wearing full equipment. With Matt Murray performing well in his return from a month-long absence due to an adductor injury, there's less of an urgency to push Samsonov's return along. Erik Kallgren will back up Murray, who makes his Maple Leafs home debut against the Devils. Signed to a one-year, $1.8 million contract this summer, Samsonov has been off to a good start with Toronto. He has a 6-2-0 record with a .921 save percentage in eight starts this season. He was relied upon more than expected early in the season after Murray was injured ahead of his second scheduled start on Oct. 15. Kallgren performed well as the team's No. 1 option in goal while both Samsonov and Murray were hurt. After struggling in October with an .875 save percentage, he bounced back with a 2-1-0 record in four appearances in November while posting a .907 save percentage.
