Leafs' Samsonov now NHL leader in two major goalie stats

The Toronto Maple Leafs can’t get enough of Ilya Samsonov.

Sure, on Tuesday night, they put up seven goals on the lowly Anaheim Ducks on a stat-padding sort of night offensively.

But on the other end of the rink, Samsonov picked up his second consecutive shutout, as he’s now on a run of five consecutive wins, giving up just four goals over that span.

After a series of questions about Samsonov’s fit in Toronto this offseason, the 25-year-old goalie and former first-round pick seems to have quieted the noise.

“He has put the work in. I think he feels good about where he is at with his game,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said about Samsonov’s hot start to the year. “He has done a good job of getting through the injury and getting back here now.”

Dealing with a knee injury earlier in November, Samsonov now has a 9-2-0 record in 11 games, with a goals against average of 1.70 and a save percentage of .939 this season.

And as of last night, Samsonov is now the NHL leader in both goals against average and save percentage.

He’s still a ways off from having the same number of games played as many No. 1 options league-wide, as 40 goalies this year have logged more minutes than him.

But you can only play the minutes you’re on the ice, and Samsonov has answered the call just about every time to date. Samsonov’s .939 save percentage nudges out Linus Ullmark’s .938, while his GAA is ahead of second-place Ullmark, who sits at 1.83.

Samsonov, who was awarded the team’s game MVP wrestling belt for last night’s game, joked that it’s “about time I get this.”

Ilya Samsonov, draped in the team MVP belt, doubles down on his confidence from last month that Mitch is good enough to beat the NHL point streak record (50 games).

“Yeah yeah yeah, you remember what I said? I believe, for sure. A little bit more. 23? Almost 50, no?” 😁 pic.twitter.com/YIKBgWJWD2

— kt (@itsmitchmarney) December 14, 2022

And it appears that Samsonov’s upbeat nature is rubbing off throughout the locker room.

“First of all, he has lots of personality. He is fun to be around and fun to talk to,” Keefe added about what he’s liked about Samsonov’s season. “[But] what really stands out is the work that he has put in since he arrived in our facility and how he has embraced the program. That is the goalie coach, the strength coach, a performance team, a nutritionist — it is all the way through. He has embraced everything we have brought to him and everything we have asked him to do.”

The Leafs hit the ice at Madison Square Garden tomorrow against the New York Rangers, though it’s likely Samsonov has the night off in favour of Murray.

But no matter who’s in net, the Leafs don’t appear to be showing signs of slowing down anytime soon.

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