TORONTO — Through the first four games of this young but already-tumultuous season, a familiar cloud of worry had once again taken up residence above the Toronto Maple Leafs’ net.
It was seeded by another roll of the dice that threatened to burn Kyle Dubas’s club one more time, as presumed No. 1 netminder Matt Murray — he of past Cup glory and hometown resurgence hopes — was pushed once again to the shelf with an injury, where he was forced to spend much of last season.
But heading into a 2022-23 campaign for all the marbles, Dubas and Co. gave themselves another card to play, an alternate course to take — a second dice-roll, on Ilya Samsonov. And Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena, in a messy 3-2 overtime win over the Dallas Stars that craved some stability, some backbone, Samsonov proved up to the task.
“He made a couple massive saves for us again tonight,” Mitch Marner said of his netminder, who registered his third win of the campaign Thursday — keeping him undefeated and making him the only goalie on the roster who’s put a ‘W’ on the board so far this season. “It’s been great to watch, just his calmness in net and everything like that.
“I don’t think that win happens with him not in there. He made a couple big saves, kept us in the game, kept it tight.”
It wasn’t a performance that’ll drop jaws or rewrite records. The 25-year-old finished the night with 26 saves to his name, and fished two pucks out of his net. But it was when Samsonov stood tall, when he shut the door, that allowed his Maple Leafs to push their 3-2 record off of level ground, towards the win column.
“Hard game for us, you know? Tight game,” the ever-calm Samsonov said of the overtime win after the final buzzer had sounded. “But, you know, we got some smiles again tomorrow, before a road trip. That's more important for us right now.”
Through the first 20 minutes of Thursday night’s tilt, you couldn’t fault him for having a tougher time finding that smile.
Halfway through the opening period, the netminder had yet to be truly tested, Dallas managing just one shot through that early stretch, and finishing the first frame with just six shots on the board. To make matters worse, one amid that meagre handful had put the Stars up early, Samsonov giving up a regrettable rebound that Dallas’s Luke Glendening had wired home.
Once the chances started flowing, though, No. 35 did all he could to keep his Maple Leafs in the fight.
He was there in the second after Toronto had tied the game, bailing out teammates as passes repeatedly misfired in the Maple Leafs’ zone, as pucks drifted off sticks and turned into Dallas chances. He was there as the Stars found their legs and started pouring it on in that middle frame, putting Toronto on the ropes with a lengthy stretch that saw them strip the Leafs of the puck, take it down the ice for quality looks, rinse and repeat.
The only puck that did beat Samsonov for the rest of the night took a fair helping of controversy to find the scoresheet, Tyler Seguin and Marner crashing into Samsonov and sending him sprawling back into his cage as the puck drifted across the line. Initially waved off due to incidental contact, a challenge from the Stars bench wound up reversing the call, leaving the game tied once again midway through the third.
“Obviously, on my side, we feel pretty strongly that Mitch was pushed in and the goalie didn’t have a chance to make the save,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said of the play. “It doesn’t go our way tonight, but of all the goalie interference-type situations, those are tough ones to call. You never really know which way that’s going to go — unfortunately it didn’t go our way today.”
His netminder echoed the sentiment.
“I don't know — I am respectful to referees, because these guys are doing a hard job, every game. I didn't watch some video — I will see tomorrow or maybe today ... but I think there's interference,” Samsonov said of the late goal. “But referee said goal, [so] it’s goal.”
With that goal in tow, the Stars came alive once again. The chances started coming in bunches, Dallas trying to string together some momentum to get a third and put the Leafs away. Still, Samsonov did all he needed to do — stood tall, held the fort, and gave his club a chance.
In overtime, they took it, young Nick Robertson cashing in for the second time Thursday night to clinch the win.
“He needed to make some big saves today,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said of his netminder’s performance in the narrow victory. “The second goal, there’s not a lot he can do there — whether it’s our guy, their guy, he is interfered with. But I thought he was strong.”
If all goes to plan elsewhere on the roster, that’s all the Maple Leafs need Samsonov to be.
“The guys feel good when he’s in there,” Keefe said of No. 35 Thursday night, his club back where it needs to be. “You feel like he’s going to make the saves. He’s going to be strong.”
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