Leafs make controversial decision in goal for Monday's clash with Boston
On Saturday night, a very game New York Rangers team rolled into Toronto having won 9 of their previous 10 games. The Rangers gave the Leafs all they could handle on the night, but when the dust had settled, it was the Leafs who skated away with a 4-3 shootout win at home, handing one of the hottest teams in the NHL a loss that they probably didn't deserve.
It came as a surprise to absolutely no one when Ilya Samsonov earned the player of the game honours after the game, with Joseph Woll handing his tandem partner the Leafs' championship belt after he had posted a .914 SV%, making 32 saves in the win and looking sensational in both the OT period and the shootout.
With Woll back and healthy, I'm sure just about everyone had thought that Woll and Samsonov would trade starts the rest of the way, with Woll likely getting a few extra starts just to get back into a rhythm and find his stride before the playoffs begin. However, on Monday morning, it was Samsonov who left practice first, the usual indicator for who will start in goal, meaning that Sammy is expected to start again tonight against the Boston Bruins.
Obviously, this decision is not that deep. Keefe and company likely just felt like Samsonov played well enough on Saturday to deserve the nod against Boston tonight. Also, perhaps the team wants to exercise some extra caution with Woll, who missed more than 2 months with a high-ankle sprain. Managing his workload right now might make more sense with the playoffs just around the corner.
At any rate, whatever played a role in the decision, Sammy gets the nod tonight with Woll the likely favourite to draw back in on Wednesday against the Sabres.
| POLL | ||
MARS 4 | 513 ANSWERS Leafs make controversial decision in goal for Monday's clash with Boston Has Ilya Samsonov taken hold of the #1 goalie spot in Toronto? | ||
| Yes | 233 | 45.4 % |
| No | 280 | 54.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
