NASHVILLE — Ilya Samsonov‘s shattered confidence took a small step forward Saturday in Nashville. But the losing goaltender is still a long bachelorette pedal-bar party ride away from the “Smilin’ Sammy” that tosses out quips in scrums, laughs at his own jokes and endears himself to Leafs Nation.
Head and tone low after a 3-2 overtime loss to the hometown Predators, Samsonov apologized for surrendering the first goal against, a Ryan O’Reilly power-play marker that squeaked five-hole in the first period.
“I need to go to butterfly right away,” Samsonov said, quietly. “My bad.”
The affable goaltender spoke openly Friday about his mental struggles since getting the quick pull last Saturday in Tampa, and those spilled emotions helped prop up Game 8 of the Toronto Maple Leafs into what felt like a big one for the man who opened the season as the club’s clear-cut starting goaltender.
“First period, a little bit hard for me. Second and third, I feel my game,” said Samsonov, who finished with 21 saves on 24 shots and did not allow a 5-on-5 goal.
Good enough for a tired Leafs group to snatch another standings point as they tie a bow on this 3-1-1 road trip, their first and longest of the season.
As Nashvillians and tourists donned masked flooded Broadway in their Halloween weekend costumes and masks, Samsonov changed his up.
Following his shaky effort against the Lightning, Samsonov ditched the new Curtis Joseph–inspired mask he was so excited to reveal in training camp. He reverted back to a less-flashy paint job.
“No more CuJo,” Samsonov said. “That’s it.”
Indeed, expectations were dialled back for this game, which had let’s-grab-a-point-and-get-home vibes all over it.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe wasn’t critical at all, taking it easy on a tired team that, big picture, tightened up defensively over the course of this five-game voyage.
Most impressive is how the top end of Toronto’s defence performed, considering that for the second straight outing, the Leafs lost a key blueliner to injury mid-game.
Thursday it was lefty Jake McCabe (groin), replaced by the callup William Lagesson; Saturday it was righty Timothy Liljegren (upper body) leaving early and heaping more on the shoulders of the vets.
“At the end of the long trip, that fatigue is going to become a factor, and then when you lose another defenceman, that’s enhanced even more,” Keefe said.
Morgan Rielly logged a whopping 27:48. T.J. Brodie skated 25:33. John Klingberg and Mark Giordano — third-pairing guys when the Leafs are at full health — each pushed past 20 and had a hand in Toronto’s two goals. (The less-trusted Lagesson clocked in at 10:56.)
“You like playing a lot, but I think just switching partners all the time, you got to talk. You got to be aware of who you’re out with more,” explained Giordano, stressing the need to know the handedness of his rotating partners.
Added Keefe: “It’s a challenge in one way for sure. You got to manage guys’ minutes; you’re constantly having to change the pairs up. Yet it also becomes somewhat easy because it’s just kind of next man up…. Don’t overthink it.”
Just as Keefe isn’t overthinking the early-season mediocrity of his penalty kill, which has allowed seven goals through eight games, including two to ex-Leaf O’Reilly in this one, and has dipped to 74.1 per cent.
“In a lot of ways, we’re trying to manufacture penalty killers here,” Keefe said. “It’s going to take some time.”
Just as it will take Samsonov some time to start feeling like his sunny self again.
Baby steps and kid gloves.
No reason to nitpick a long roadie when you gather seven of 10 points despite weathering a couple of injuries to key defencemen.
“He should feel good about it,” Keefe said of his goaltender.
“He did his job. Gave us a chance to win the game.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• With his first-period power-play goal, William Nylander tied a Maple Leafs franchise record by kicking off the season with an eight-game point streak (6-6–12).
The winger can take sole possession of the record with a point Tuesday, when the Leafs host the Kings.
• Filip Forsberg and wife Erin served friend and former teammate Calle Järnkrok a delicious meal of chicken tikka masala Friday night.
Forsberg is a big proponent that his fellow Swede performs his best in a top-six role and has been pushing him to fire the puck more often.
“I think he’s right,” says Järnkrok, who has put 12 pucks on net through eight games. “I got to get my shot going more.”
Järnkrok, skating to the left of Matthews and Marner, says it should be easier to start pulling the trigger “because they give me the puck in good spots.”
• When Tavares played with Josi in the Swiss League during the 2012 lockout, the forward taught the defenceman what gluten was and how Josi should avoid the ingredient in his protein shakes.
• Keefe characterizes the results of McCabe’s MRI as “good news.” The second-pairing defenceman pulled his groin in Dallas but is walking fine and remained with the Leafs to wrap the trip.
“Probably best-case scenario for us,” Keefe said. “Not expecting him to miss any sort of significant time. We’ll see him back before too long.”
• Max Domi is quietly finding his groove on the third line. After a sluggish start, the playmaking winger has gathered four assists over his past four games.
