Ilya Samsonov explains what he changed about his game to get off to such a hot start
This summer, the Leafs released long-time goalie coach Steve Briere and hired Curtis Sanford as their new goaltending coach shortly before they signed Ilya Samsonov to a 1-year, $1.8M "prove it" deal. Sanford was renowned for his work he did in Vancouver and early on into his Leafs career, he's done wonderful things for both Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov.
Both Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov are top-5 in the league in save percentage and top-10 in goals against average, with Samsonov actually leading the league in both categories. After struggling in Washington, Samsonov and Sanford have reverted back to what worked for the 25-year-old in Russia and his first year in Washington.
Unlike most teams that have their goalies workout separately from the team for most of practice, the Leafs use Murray and Samsonov for most of their drills which not only helps the players, but helps the goalies immensely.
"If you're doing just straight shots, it's not helpful. Here we're doing a lot of 3-on-2, or 2-on-1 drills. The in-zone stuff, it really helps me. It's especially important for the times you don't play, you can feel your game all of the time. This is what I needed. This is what I was doing in Russia and what I did my first season in Washington," said Samsonov.
In speaking with Sports Illustrated, Samsonov admitted that there is a much more complete approach to the Leafs goaltending than he had his previous few seasons in Washington.
"We're doing everything, reaction, mental stuff, how I feel after the games. How your mental game is. How you see the puck with your eyes is really important right now. With Scotty, he's more about playing with my feet and using my size, you know it was a little bit of a different game," Samsonov continued. "Here in some situations I need to stay in the butterfly for a little bit longer more than I was using before. It's a little bit of a different game for me right now."
Through 11 games in the blue and white, the new approach that Samsonov and Sanford have taken to improve his positioning, reaction time and everything else has paid off. Samsonov is 9-2-0 with 8 straight wins at home at Scotiabank Arena. He leads the league in save percentage and goals against average and will look to defeat his former team Saturday night as the Leafs are in Washington to take on Alex Ovechkin and and Capitals.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 17 | 214 ANSWERS Ilya Samsonov explains what he changed about his game to get off to such a hot start Do you think Washington regrets letting Ilya Samsonov walk as a UFA? | ||
| Definitely | 155 | 72.4 % |
| Probably not | 59 | 27.6 % |
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