Leafs appear to have a new number one goalie in town
Photo credit: NHL
When joseph Woll went down with what we now know is a high-ankle sprain against the Ottawa Senators on December 10th, many expected Ilya Samsonov to seize the opportunity and run with the starting job. The opportunity was ripe for the picking. Instead, Samsonov dropped the ball.
Samsonov started three of the four games following Woll's injury. Following a very shaky start against Columbus on December 14th, however, where he gave up five goals in the first 40 minutes, Martin Jones was given the start on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Jones started his second game in a Leafs uniform on Saturday and blanked the Penguins 7-0, which led many to ask if there was a new goaltending controversy in Toronto. It would appear that a controversy is indeed brewing as Jones was the first goalie off the ice this morning, which signifies that he will be starting tonight against the New York Rangers. Jones' first start for the Leafs came against the same Rangers on Tuesday of last week, which saw him backstop the Leafs to a 7-3 win.
Samsonov's season has been an unmitigated disaster, with the Leafs netminder posting a 5-1-5 record across 10 starts, a putrid 3.51 GAA and a subpar .878 SV%. We should probably thank GM Brad Treliving for going through the arbitration process with Samsonov rather than inking him to a 3-5 year deal.
With Jones getting his second start in three games and second straight start, it seems that Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has lost confidence in Samsonov and is electing to go with the more calming, veteran presence of Jones. Through three games, Jones is 3-0-0 with a 1.86 GAA and .949 save percentage.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 19 | 898 ANSWERS Leafs appear to have a new number one goalie in town Should the Leafs continue to ride the hot hand of Martin Jones until Joseph Woll returns? | ||
| Yes, it's Jones' net now | 776 | 86.4 % |
| No, sneak Sammy into some games | 122 | 13.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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