Former Leafs Goalie Ilya Samsonov Directly Responsible for Embarrassing Blunder in Blowout Loss
Former Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov put forth one of his worst outings of the season on Saturday and gave up an embarrassing goal against Utah.
Heading into the summer, it was pretty clear that the Maple Leafs were pondering a big change in goal, which came to fruition when they inked Anthony Stolarz to a 2-year deal, and releasing Ilya Samsonov to the free agent pool.
Samsonov ended up signing a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights to back up Stanley Cup champion Adin Hill. Right about now, the Golden Knights may be regretting that decision.
Samsonov has played in 9 games for the Golden Knights thus far, and unfortunately, he has not improved upon his lackluster performance with the Leafs last season. So far this year, Samsonov has played his way to a 3.40 GAA and a putrid .892 SV%. He is also responsible for the worst goalie blunder of the season.
Last night against the Utah Hockey Club, Samsonov skated 30 feet out of his net to try to play the puck up to a teammate, only to throw and absolute pizza straight to the tape of fellow former Leaf Alex Kerfoot, who made no mistake in putting it in past a diving Samsonov to take a 2-0 lead.
To make matters worse, Samsonov also allowed another weak goal to Utah, his 6th goal against, during the 2nd period -- much to the delight of Nick Schmaltz and the Utah Hockey Club. Samsonov was absolutely swimming on this one.
The Leafs, meanwhile, have received tremendous goaltending from Anthony Stolarz, who has racked up a 7-4-2 record with a strong 2.33 GAA and a sparkling .921 SV%. You can't be mad at that if you're a Maple Leafs fan.
