Jets goaltender makes surprising comments regarding Ilya Samsonov following the Leafs' 1-0 win
Before puck drop, I don't know if many people imagined that the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to defeat the Winnipeg Jets in overtime courtesy of an Ilya Samsonov shutout.
The Jets have been the league's stingiest team and even their backup goaltender has been a brick wall behind that defense. However, game recognizes game, and after the the final horn sounded last night, Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit wanted to give Samsonov credit for the game he played and the struggles he had gone through to get there:
Samsonov's struggles this year have been well documented from the moment the season started. The soon-to-be 27-year-old gave up 9 goals on 56 shots in his first two starts and struggled to the tune of a 5-2-6 record with a .862 SV% and a G.A.A just a shade under 3.50.
He had allowed 4 or more goals 8 times in his first 15 games, including 4 straight games before being placed on waivers. He cleared the next day and was then assigned to the Toronto Marlies. He returned 2 weeks later ahead of their game against the Detroit Red Wings on the 14th of January, where he stopped 20 of 23 shots in the loss, but looking much better than he had.
He has now won back-to-back games for the first time since November 11th and 17th and his 16-save victory against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday was his first win since December 9th - a span of 5 games. Tonight he was even better as he stopped 16 shots in the first period alone, including a ridiculous 2-on-0 opportunity while the Leafs were on the power play.
Samsonov is now 7-3-6 on the season and will look to build on his last two games as the Leafs head out west to Winnipeg to finish off the home-and-home. As for Brossoit, he did as much as he could, stopping all 29 shots fired his way before Auston Matthews potted the game-winner for his 39th tally of the season in OT.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 25 | 729 ANSWERS Jets goaltender makes surprising comments regarding Ilya Samsonov following the Leafs' 1-0 win Is Ilya Samsonov back? | ||
| YES! He's so back | 218 | 29.9 % |
| Give him a few more games yet | 453 | 62.1 % |
| No, this is just a small step forward | 58 | 8 % |
| List of polls | ||
