On Saturday afternoon, just hours before puck drop, the Leafs had still not identified who would be starting this evening against the Vancouver Canucks. Neither Martin Jones nor Ilya Samsonov has really stood tall over the last week or so, despite Jones having helped the Leafs snap a 4-game losing streak against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Samsonov has been back with the team since January 10th, but has started just 1 game since then, which should give you an idea of what the level of trust there is from head coach Sheldon Keefe. Well, if Keefe's decision on Saturday is any indication, that trust hasn't improved at all throughout this week as Samsonov continues to work away on the details of his game at practice.
Just a couple of hours before puck drop in Vancouver, Sheldon Keefe confirmed that it would be Martin Jones tending the twine for the Leafs, opposite Thatcher Demko.
Jones has allowed a combined 14 goals over his last 4 starts, winning just 1 of those games, being Thursday's win in Calgary. Jones has posted a save percentage above .900 just once over that stretch, a .903 SV% against Edmonton on January 16th. He's the team's 3rd string netminder, so we shouldn't be too critical of his performance of late, but it's very telling that Keefe didn't turn to Samsonov against a Canucks team that is among the best in the league this season.
The Leafs' win on Thursday did move them back into 3rd in the Atlantic Division, but they'll need to build some momentum here and begin to string together some wins if they don't want to be stuck in the Wild Card race come April.
