No second guessing Samsonov
As Bruins fans debate goalie decisions, Leafs are confident in their No. 1
There’s no doubt Ilya Samsonov is a beloved Maple Leaf, both by the fans that chant “Sammy, Sammy” after every big save, and by his teammates who love his no-quit attitude in the crease.
“I really honestly admire his mindset,” star centre Auston Matthews said of his goalie. “He’s got a very short memory and if he has a bad game or a bad stretch, he clears it out of his mind and just gets back to it and competes. I think as players, we appreciate that so much.
“It’s just great to have a goalie like that. So steady and calm back there, obviously goes a long way.”
Samsonov is the latest in a list of Maple Leaf goalies that don’t exactly exude the same kind of confidence by the Leaf fan base, at least compared to the guy in the other net.
From facing Braden Holtby, to Tuukka Rask, to Carey Price, to Andrei Vasilevsky, to Sergei Bobrovsky, it’s generally considered the Maple Leafs have had the secondbest goaltender in ever Stanley Cup playoff series they’ve been in over the past eight years.
If you’re counting, the Leafs have faced goalies with a combined six Vezina Trophies (Bobrovsky won it twice), four William Jennings (lowest regular season goals-against average), one Hart Trophy (MVP, Price), one Ted Lindsay (Price again as best player as chosen by players) and one Conn Smythe (Vasilevsky, as playoff MVP).
The Leafs — backstopped by Samsonov — finally took down Vasilevsky last year, on their third try, only to run into Bobrovsky in the second round. Samsonov was hurt for the final two games against Florida, with Joseph Woll taking over.
This year, the task is no easier against the Boston Bruins. Linus Ullmark has a Vezina and shared the Jennings with Jeremy Swayman last year.
Swayman stonewalled the Leafs in Game 1, and the Leafs broke through on Ullmark in Game 2. The fact that coach Jim Montgomery switched goalies — which has been his habit — irked some in Boston, though Montgomery stuck by his decision.
“No second guesses. He was terrific,” Montgomery said. “He made multiple big-time saves. We only scored two goals (in Game 2).
“Our goaltenders have been up to the task. Our offence has not been there.”
The Bruins are quite likely going to return to Swayman for Game 3. Swayman is 4-0-0 with a .967 save percentage against the Leafs this season, including a 35-save effort in Game 1.
“They’re both good goalies, but I don’t think it changes what we need to do,” Leafs forward Matthew Knies said. “We’ve got to get in front of them, live inside the paint. Make (their) life hell.”
The last team that switched goalies against the Leafs in the playoffs beat Toronto. That was Columbus in the best-of-five qualifying round in the pandemic playoffs in the summer of 2020, with then unheralded Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins pulling off the upset against Frederik Andersen and the Leafs.
But now Matthews (a goal and two assists) has his mojo going and Samsonov seems dialed in, his midseason troubles well behind him.
“We love him,” captain John Tavares said of Samsonov. “We love him and he’s a big part of our locker room. It just adds into our belief in him, being the backbone between the pipes and how he’s been able to battle and stay with it and compete.
“I think as a teammate, you admire that and you appreciate that and certainly respect the hell out of it. He’s battled hard all year, which hasn’t been the way you’d draw it up, but you just keep putting your head down and going forward.
“With Sammy, if something doesn’t go his way, a goal, a call, or the stretch that he had early in the year, his ability to just stay with it has been really impressive.”