Fast forward to tonight and it's more of the same, as Samsonov has allowed 4 goals on 12 shots and has once again been pulled in the first period in favour of 25-year-old Joseph Woll. Now, they're hoping lightning will strike twice (pun intended).
The Leafs opened the scoring tonight, with Matthew Knies scoring his 3rd of the season and Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner drawing the assists. However, less than a minute later, Victor Hedman tied the game and the Bolts would go on to add 3 more goals in the period. It had gotten so bad for Samsonov at one point that when a routine shot hit him in the chest, the crowd began to "Bronx cheer" him.
After the 4th goal, Samsonov was visibly upset, taking off his mask and slamming it down on the bench in disgust, knowing that he choked away a golden opportunity to prove that his game was back on track. I'm sure he was also frustrated knowing that he has put his team in a pretty big hole after just 15 minutes.
Woll came into the game with a little under 5 minutes remaining in the 1st period and was able to weather the storm and stop the bleeding to keep the Leafs at a 3 goal deficit after one period of play. Here's hoping the Buds can turn things around again and use the next 40 minutes to chip away at the lead and work themselves back into this one, because it's been ugly through 20 minutes thus far.
POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 6 | 437 ANSWERS Ilya Samsonov pulled for the 2nd consecutive game against Tampa, throws helmet in disgust Should the Leafs give Samsonov the start on Wednesday against a struggling Ottawa Senators team to help build his confidence? | ||
Yes | 116 | 26.5 % |
No | 223 | 51 % |
Just trade him | 98 | 22.4 % |
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