Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, left, and goaltender Ilya Samsonov celebrate after defeating the Nashville Predators in Toronto on Dec. 9.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Just when it looked as if Ilya Samsonov was about to fall off the face of the map, the Maple Leafs goalie emerged from his funk and pitched a shutout on Saturday night. Inserted into the lineup for the first time since Nov. 24, Samsonov recorded 18 saves at Scotiabank Arena in a 4-0 victory over the Nashville Predators.
It was a timely return with Joseph Woll sidelined by injury and came on the heels of an illness that has begun to creep its way through Toronto’s clubhouse.
“If you could draw it up, it was as perfect a game as you could ever get from him,” the head coach, Sheldon Keefe, said. “For a guy that hasn’t played in a while and has also been sick, to have a night like that is great for him and something for him to build on for sure.”
The shutout was the Maple Leafs’ first of the season and first since Samsonov accomplished the feat last April 1. It is the only time he has allowed two or fewer goals in 11 starts during the 2023-2024 campaign after a stellar performance just last year.
“It felt great,” Samsonov said as he addressed the media after the game. Quick with a quip, he followed that up by saying, “Long time no see you guys.”
Woll had usurped Samsonov as the starting netminder and had been in the crease in the five preceding games. In the third period on Thursday he suffered a sprained ankle that will possibly keep him out for more than a week.
“I was shocked a little bit when I saw it,” Samsonov said. “It’s not fun when you see your goaltending partner get an injury. I have been in that situation and it’s not great. I know he feels bad.”
Samsonov barely worked up a sweat against Nashville because the defence played well around him. Overall, it was probably Toronto’s best effort of the season as it improved to 14-6-4 and 8-2-1 over its past 11 outings.
Auston Matthews scored twice and is now just one goal behind Nikita Kucherov of Tampa Bay, who leads the NHL with 19.
The Maple Leafs outshot the Predators 37-18, and their defensive corps blocked a combined 10 shots and delivered 11 hits. William Nylander, who has cooled off a bit after a spectacular start, had two assists and took the puck away from opposing players four times.
“It was as tidy a game as we’ve played,” Keefe said. “A team game like that takes care of everybody. It is certainly as good a team win as we have had.”
Toronto is third in the Atlantic Division standings, seven points behind Boston and four in arrears of second-place Florida. Detroit is fourth followed closely by the Lightning in a race that that seemingly gets jumbled on just about a daily basis.
The team travelled on Sunday and will play the Islanders on Monday and the Rangers on Tuesday in a back-to-back New York/New York challenge that should prove interesting. John Tavares, the Maple Leafs’ captain who played for nine seasons on Long Island, can reach 1,000 points for his career with two on Monday.
Samsonov will likely get one start with Martin Jones getting the other.
Usually upbeat, Samsonov has had a difficult past two weeks with which he struggled personally. He never felt any animosity toward Woll, who unseated him as the No. 1 goalie, however.
“We are playing in the best league in the world,” Samsonov said. “You need to understand sometimes that your partner is playing better than you. You need to work every day, harder and harder. That is how you build character.”
Teammates said Samonov looked calm and poised. They hope this happy return continues.
“For him to come in here and play well is going to help him moving forward,” Morgan Rielly, the defenceman, said shortly after Saturday’s game.