TORONTO – Ilya Samonsov came into Saturday night carrying the burden of a four-game run of sub-.900 performances.
He exited with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ player-of-the-game wrestling belt and his first Hockey Night in Canada towel. Following his post-win interview on national television, the goaltender tried to return the iconic sweat-wiper to interviewer Kyle Bukauskas, only to be pleasantly surprised to learn he could keep it.
“A couple gifts, yeah,” Samsonov smiled.
Yes, the fast fan favourite was back to receiving gifts instead of offering them to the opposition.
“Last four games, for me, really hard,” the forthright Samsonov admitted. “But today I believe my skill and believe my mental spot. I know if you every day hard work, it’s coming back.
“I believe I’m back on track.”
Getting the Samsonov half of Toronto’s tandem back on the rails after an iffy three-week stretch is a welcome step toward the Maple Leafs rediscovering their consistency after some bumpy and only occasionally inspired play following the Christmas break.
The home side, which had looked half-interested in this week’s losses to St. Louis and Seattle, came out of the gates flat. The Leafs registered all of two shots and fell behind the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in the opening frame.
Were it not for Samsonov’s calm, dialed-in showing in the early going, which allowed the more skilled group to find its legs, the Leafs risked dropping another one.
“Detroit was just playing harder than us, and it showed,” coach Shledon Keefe said.
Keefe delivered a stern wakeup call in the first intermission. His skaters woke up and sped up.
“Sheldon, he said a couple good words for us,” Samsonov smiled. “Everybody hungry today for a win. It’s a good game for us. Good for mental, good for physically, good for everything.”
A switch flicked, and the pace accelerated.
The Leafs — outhit 21-5 in the first period — began winning puck battles, exiting their zone cleanly, and passing with pace and purpose.
Mitchell Marner pounded his 500th point into the net on the Leafs’ first shot of the second period.
John Tavares accepted a buttery backhand feed from Calle Järnkrok and converted all alone on Magnus Hellberg on their second.
And Samsonov — only lightly tested by a mediocre Red Wings offence the rest of the way — slammed the door shut for good.
In cruising to a 4-1 comeback win, the Maple Leafs’ final 40 minutes resembled that of team that wanted to snuff out its problems before they got out of hand.
As if they took a cue from their goaltender.
Friday was a day off for the entire team, save for two men who hit the ice anyway: Samsonov and goalie coach Curtis Sanford.
Off ice, Sanford and Samsonov will spend over an hour poring over recent game tape and dissecting each goal against.
The past three days especially, Keefe notes, Samosonov has been working extra hard to regain his November form.
Those close to Samsonov will tell you he tends to ride the emotional waves that toss so many athletes during the 82-game marathon. Waves that can be particularly dangerous for goaltenders. (Remember, Samsonov’s rough patch began with that high-pressure homecoming in Washington, during which his nerves got the better of him.)
Samsonov himself explains that his own mind had been too busy during game action and that he’s been working on remaining focused, living in a more level mental state.
Sure, Saturday’s opponent wasn’t the fiercest. But the victory and its spoils should go a long way to sliding Samsonov back into a groove.
“We’ve been needing our whole team to play better, but we need our goalies to play better as well. It hasn’t gone as well for them,” Keefe said.
“He looked destined to have a great game here tonight — and I thought he did.”
Fox’s Fast 5
• Auston Matthews teased Marner by pretending to toss his 500th-point puck over the glass to the fans before flipping it to equipment manager Bobby Hastings for taping.
“That’s a nice joke we got going around right now. Bunts did that a couple weeks ago with one of the pucks,” Marner said. “We have fun with each other.”
• One of Matthews (reigning Hart, Ted Lindsay, and Rocket trophies champ), David Pastrnak (seventh in NHL scoring and marketable beauty), and William Nylander (the Leafs’ leading goal scorer with 22) will not be invited to the NHL All-Star Game because only so many players can hail from the Atlantic Division and all 32 teams need representation.
The format is broken.
“There are definitely guys that deserved to be acknowledged, and they might miss that opportunity because of the format,” Morgan Rielly said. “But hopefully their teammates are there to pick them up.”
• Led by captain Shane Wright, members of Canada’s gold-medal-winning junior squad were in the house Saturday.
• Detroit’s Jakub Vrana is trying to get his career rolling again as he returns from the NHL/PA’s player assistance program.
The 26-year-old, a first-round pick with pedigree, cleared waivers this week and is getting in some conditioning with Grand Rapids. Thus far, he has just one assist and is a minus-6 at the AHL level, but you wonder if he can still help the big club once he gets back to speed.
“He does provide goals. Where he’s at in his game, you hope to get back there,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said.
• The home team donned some fantastic original warmups sweaters for Indigenous Celebration Game, designed by Tyler Tabobondung Rushnell.
“They’re sharp,” Keefe confirmed. “A very important and overdue endeavour.”
The Leafs invited Chief Stacey Laforme from Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation to address the players and encourage them to take a lead in the patch toward reconciliation.
The sweaters are being auctioned off. Proceeds benefit the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre.
