'I almost cried': Samsonov's heroics steal focus from benching of Leafs' top power play

TORONTO — The story of this one-goal game can be boiled down to one play.

And, no, that play is not Auston Matthews' game-winning goal in overtime to allow his Toronto Maple Leafs to escape with a 1-0 victory and steal two ugly points from the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. (Even Matthews is happy to concede that.) 

The play of grave concern and wonderful consequence occurred in the second period, with the Maple Leafs' star-studded top power-play unit extending its shift and principles Matthews and Mitch Marner committing an atrocious line change as the Jets' penalty killers rushed against the grain.

Toronto's best players' lack of detail paved way for the rare shorthanded 2-on-0 rush.

"Not typical moment, yeah?" Ilya Samsonov thought, as killers Morgan Barron and Adam Lowry came barrelling down on his crease untouched in a 0-0 goalie duel.

Tic-tac-toe, Lowery and Barron played catch with each other. One ripped a shot, the other tried pounding home an uncontested rebound. 

Samsonov stoned them both, while Matthews and Marner were busy catching their breath safely on the bench.

The denizens of Scotiabank Library didn't have many scoring chances of their own to root for by that point, so they erupted at the golden chances denied by the pads of their resurrected hero. 

"Sam-my!" chants engulfed the barn and Leafs Nation rose to its feet in appreciation.

"I almost cried," Samsonov would say postgame. "This is huge. Thank you. Thank you again, all the fans."

Despite Toronto's lopsided 5-2 edge in power-plays and Winnipeg battling without two thirds of its top line (Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi) and, after one period, its best defenceman (Josh Morrissey), the Jets had been tilting the ice all night.

Were it not for Samsonov, that 2-on-0 should've been their breakthrough. And much more of the night's attention would be negative and focused on the superstars' gaffe.

"Thank God for 35 in there," Marner said.

So, when the goaltender attempted to hand goal-getter Matthews Toronto's player-of-the-game belt after he froze the clock, Matthews wisely refused the gift and handed it right back to its rightful recipient.

"Unbelievable," Matthews said. "The best player on the ice for us, by far."

Now, that singular play — Sammy's Double Whammy — is not just integral to Samsonov's growing redemption tale but to a rare exercise of authority by coach Sheldon Keefe on his elite players.

Furious, Keefe benched the Leafs' top trio of Matthews, Marner, and William Nylander for the following power-play and then started his seldom-used second unit for the 5-on-4 following that.

Withholding PP time? Against these guys? When Keefe is trying to win a tight contest? 

That never happens. 

And it speaks to both the urgency in these parts and the current sloppiness of a power-play that was tops in the Eastern Conference just last season, with the same personnel.

"They make a mistake in that spot. It's a chance for me to hold them accountable and get some other guys involved," Keefe explained. "But those guys have been excellent for us."

The coach declined to assess the mistake in detail, noting that it was addressed, that everyone moved on, and that Matthews scored at 3-on-3.

"We obviously trust in him to make the right decisions for the team," Morgan Rielly said.

Matthews said he'd never witness a shorthanded 2-on-0 break.

"No. Because, honestly, that shouldn't happen," he owned. "That's on us as a PP, and we just gotta be better in those situations. That's on us. So, we got to be better. We will be better."

"Obviously not good enough. We know that. I mean, we've been here for a long time, and to give that up, especially on a power-play and in a game like that, it's unacceptable," Marner echoed.

"Wasn't a great game by our team."

Despite dealing with more injuries and seeing less power-play time, the Jets were sturdier defensively. They looked organized and well-coached, determined in the board battles and more decisive with the puck.

Toronto gave the puck away 17 times; Winnipeg just five.

"We couldn't execute a pass. Didn't have a lot of life. Didn't have a lot of energy. Didn't have a lot of legs," Keefe said.

"To me, it looked like a team that was still on the plane."

Except for a very grounded Samsonov, who has piled three strong performances on top of each other now, each better than the last. None more sparkling than his 32-save, four-period show against the best team in the Central Division.

"Virtually everyone, I'm sure, had counted him out and written him off. Even internally, there were questions," Keefe said. "Credit to him to stay with it." 

Remember, when Samsonov was at his nadir, he had lost five of six — and in four of those the puck leaked past him in the extra frame.

"Long time, I didn't want an overtime," Samsonov admitted. "I'm not afraid, but still shaky a little bit, yeah?"

Yet, once he saw the puck smack Matthews' tape in tight 180 feet away, he knew the game was over.

"Ultimately, I think that there's room for improvement between now and when we go into their building [Saturday]," Rielly said.

"I don't know if we deserved that win, but it's nice to win an ugly one."

Fox's Fast Five

• The Maple Leafs' power-play — 0-for-5 Wednesday — has scored once in its past 20 opportunities.

Matthews and Marner both described the unit as "disconnected." Rielly says the Leafs are hanging onto the puck too long and need to simplify. Attack.

Earlier this week, the coach cited a lack of opportunity to practice 5-on-4 (both in-game and between a hectic travel schedule) as one reason for falling out of sync.

"Execution has been off," Keefe said. "When execution is off and passing is off, entries aren't as clean. You don't spend as much time in the offensive zone and don't put as much wear and tear on the opposition.

"If our power play gets going, it is going to help all of our guys to sort of ease that pressure a little bit offensively. You start to get more confidence. To me, it is no coincidence that the two things are happening at the same time: the power play is cold, and the 5-on-5 play dries up."

• Nick Robertson set a career high in time on ice (17:08), picked up an assist on Matthews' OT winner, and ripped four shots on net — second only to the snakebit John Tavares (seven shots).

"We had a lot of guys that just didn't have it tonight, and I thought Robertson did have it," Keefe said. "He gave us a boost here again tonight."

• Winnipeg's top defenceman, Josh Morrissey, blocked a Matthew Knies shot in the first period and did not return. His lower-body injury needs further evaluation. Yikes.

• Stanley Cup champion Laurent Broissoit, 30, is a pending unrestricted free agent enjoying a fantastic season (7-3-1, .923) backing up Connor Hellebuyck.

The Maple Leafs will need an experienced partner for Joseph Woll next season. Just sayin'.

• Not a huge fan of those black Maple Leafs "Next Gen" alternate sweaters... but they do provide a nice backdrop for sparkling, diamond-encrusted initial chains. Bling pops.