Leafs captain caught showing his frustration towards his own teammate
The Toronto Maple Leafs came to within inches of securing arguably the greatest comeback win in franchise history on Thursday, erasing a 5-0 deficit in the 3rd period against the Columbus Blue Jackets, forcing overtime, where William Nylander's 5-hole attempt slid through the pads of Elvis Merzlikins and just past the post.
In the end, it was the Blue Jackets who would come out on top, securing a 6-5 OT win thanks to an absolute bullet by Kent Johnson late in the extra frame.
This was a game full of frustrating moments for both sides, but after watching Ilya Samsonov fail to make a fairly routine save near the midway point of the 2nd period on Justin Danforth to fall behind 3-0, the camera caught Leafs captain John Tavares slumping his shoulders and shaking his head in Samsonov's direction. His reaction to the goal pretty much said it all.
As a captain, your role is to guide your team through the ups and the downs and, in that moment, Tavares certainly didn't present the right body language, which I'm sure didn't help Samsonov any.
Hockey players are human beings and, as we all know, it can be difficult at times to hide our emotions and our disappointment. Samsonov would go on to surrender 2 more goals in the 2nd period following this incident, but stopped all 7 shots he faced in the 3rd period as the Leafs stormed back to tie the game.
I'm sure that Samsonov's teammates helped prop him up after the game, but with how much he has struggled to keep the puck out of his net this season, you certainly can't blame Sammy's teammates for being frustrated.
Thankfully, the Leafs earned a point in this one, but against a bottom-feeder like Columbus, Samsonov certainly shouldn't be giving up the types of goals he was giving up last night.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 15 | 1716 ANSWERS Leafs captain caught showing his frustration towards his own teammate Should the Leafs try to move Ilya Samsonov before the trade deadline and upgrade in goal? | ||
| Yes | 1520 | 88.6 % |
| No | 196 | 11.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
