Leafs select starting goalie for Friday's game against Detroit
Leading up to today's 2:00 pm ET game in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the questions that had been left unanswered was regarding which Lesfs goaltender would get the start against the Red Wings.
Joseph Woll is 5-4-0 with a 2.91 GAA and a .908 SV%, but these numbers are not entirely indicative of how he has played. Woll started the season on fire, posting save percentages of .969 or better in 3 of his first 4 outings. Only lately have his numbers dipped, posting sub .900 save percentages in 4 of his last 5.
Meanwhile, Ilya Samsonov has been an entirely different story. After an abysmal start to his season, Samsonov is 3-1-2 in 8 appearances, being pulled twice - both against Tampa - after surrendering 3 goals on 4 shots in the first outing and 4 goals on 12 shots in the second outing against the Bolts.
Samsonov sports a 3.79 GAA and a .870 save percentage this season, which also doesn't tell the full story. Samsonov has posted a .939 save percentage or better in 2 of his last 3 starts and really appears to be finding his groove.
As it turns out, Samsonov's solid play in a 5-2 win against Vancouver last weekend appears to have earned the 26-year-old some grace with the coaching staff. Samsonov was the first goalie off the ice at practice this morning in Stockholm, Sweden and is the projected starter for the Leafs/Red Wings global series outing this afternoon.
If Samsonov can record another excellent performance on Friday, he may vault himself back into the #1 role, though the goalie controversy in Toronto isn't over quite yet. It's likely that Woll gets the nod on Sunday against Minnesota in the Global Series closer, though that is unconfirmed at this time.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 17 | 272 ANSWERS Leafs select starting goalie for Friday's game against Detroit Will the Leafs win both of their games this weekend in Sweden? | ||
| Yes | 206 | 75.7 % |
| No | 66 | 24.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
