Ilya Samsonov leaves Game 3 after an ugly collision with Luke Schenn
As if being down 2-0 and heading into hostile territory wasn't troublesome enough for the Leafs, they will now have to finish Game 3 without Ilya Samsonov. The Leafs' goaltender was excellent in the first period, stopping all 7 shots he faced. Unfortunately, just seconds into the second period, he was forced out of the game with an unspecified injury.
A poor start to the second period saw Auston Matthews turn the puck over just inside the Florida blueline. A quick pass up ice sprung Anthony Duclair on a rush chance. Samsonov stopped the shot, but the rebound was wide open for Carter Verhaeghe. Luke Schenn dove to attempt to knock the puck away and managed to do so, but slid into Samsonov with speed. Samsonov was face down on the ice for some time before leaving the ice in obvious pain.
To add insult to injury, Schenn was called for tripping on the play, and with a minute left in the powerplay, the Panthers drew even, tying the game at 1-1 on another rush from Duclair. As of this post, there is no update available on Samsonov's condition. We will update as more information becomes available.
