Samsonov reveals that he's leaving the team with 3 games remaining on their road trip
Ilya Samsonov has a lot going on right now. He missed Saturday's game in Ottawa due to some minor injury issues, which he has tried to work through, and there's also the fact that his wife's due date is imminent, with their first child on the way. Those two things, combined with the fact that Samsonov is trying to finish his season strong to give himself the best chance to be the Leafs' starting goalie when the playoffs open next month - the whole thing was a recipe for disaster. That's why, when he rejoined the Leafs for their game last night against the Islanders, he did not look like his usually sharp self.
Samsonov posted a horrendous .786 save percentage last night and it was very clear that his mind was elsewhere. With Matt Murray coming off of his best performance in a long time against Ottawa and having a pair of days off, Sheldon Keefe should have elected to start Murray over Samsonov. Post-game, Samsonov admitted that it was not a good idea for him to play last night because he was not all there mentally, saying that he had more important things on his mind and that he is flying back to Toronto this morning to be with his wife.
The Leafs are off to Florida Thursday before playing back-to-back this weekend in Carolina and Nashville, so if Sammy's wife has not had their baby by then, my guess is that we should see both Murray and Joseph Woll in action the rest of this week.
| POLL | ||
MARS 22 | 1455 ANSWERS Samsonov reveals that he's leaving the team with 3 games remaining on their road trip Did Keefe make a mistake by starting Samsonov, despite being less than 100% mentally and physically? | ||
| Yes, he should have known better | 1075 | 73.9 % |
| No, these guys are pros and always want to play | 380 | 26.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
