Projected starter for the Leafs for tonight's game against Florida
After a 3-2-0 road trip, the Leafs return home tonight to take on the Florida Panthers and Ilya Samsonov makes his return to the Leafs following a leave of absence. Samsonov's absence was due to his wife expecting to give birth to their first child.
Over the weekend, Samsonov and his wife welcomed their first child into the world and Samsonov has since rejoined the Leafs at practice, looking to get back on track after giving up 6 goals on 28 shots last week in Long Island. With Matt Murray the only goalie on the ice for the Leafs' optional skate, it would appear that Samsonov is getting the nod to start tonight.
Prior to last week's debacle on Long Island, Samsonov had been playing some of his best hockey of his career over the previous three games, posting two wins and an overtime loss, Samsonov posted an average save percentage of .938 over that span.
Samsonov and Sheldon Keefe noted that prior to leaving the team to be with his wife, Samsonov had been dealing with a nagging injury that he says is now gone and he feels 100 percent. On the season, Samsonov is 24-9-3 with 3 shutouts in 36 games while posting a .914 save percentage and 2.46 GAA.
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