Maple Leafs pull Samsonov vs. Sabres: 'I need to figure out everything in my head'

For the third time this season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have pulled Ilya Samsonov from a start.

Samsonov was taken out of Thursday's game against the Buffalo Sabres after allowing five goals on 19 shots.

"It's tough, it's tough right now, the last couple of games it's real tough," Samsonov said afterwards. "I need to figure out everything in my head. It's not about technique, it's not about nothing, just in the head."

This is the fourth time in his last five appearances that Samsonov has allowed four or more goals in a game. The 26-year-old came into this game with a 5-1-5 record with a 3.51 goals-against average and a .878 save percentage.

Martin Jones replaced Samsonov and allowed a goal on the first shot he faced as Kyle Okposo beat him on a shorthanded breakaway.

Coming into the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe made it clear that Samsonov needed to get into games after seeing Jones make consecutive starts.

"He's got to play. We gotta get him going here," Keefe said Thursday morning in Buffalo. "So, that's really it."

Toronto remains without Joseph Woll, who suffered an ankle sprain on Dec. 7 against the Ottawa Senators. The 25-year-old had an 8-5-1 record with a 2.80 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage before getting hurt.