The Leafs have now won 3 in a row as they beat the St Louis Blues in their return from the Christmas break last night. However, their last two wins have come thanks to the offense and no thanks to their shaky goaltending. Over his three games, Ilya Samsonov has given up 5, 3, and 4 goals against, putting up save percentages well below .900. Following a rough "Next Gen" game against the Flyers last week where he allowed 3 goals on just 19 shots, Samsonov said he was going to use the break to reset.
It did not look like he was able to find the reset button over the holidays. That much was obvious during the game last night. Although he made a couple of excellent saves, the third goal the Blues scored was a "have to have" shot from the blueline with no traffic. You can probably even argue that the two goals prior were also pucks that Samsonov needed to stop. He acknowledged it post-game saying, "First game after break, not too perfect, but we have two points. The result is good. A little bit hard to see the puck, your reaction is not too great. Your legs are moving a little bit hard. Not too great ice here. My hips are tired today."
Samsonov will have a few extra days off to reset before Saturday's New Years Eve clash with the defending cup champs in Colorado, should he start. Sheldon Keefe is electing to go with Matt Murray for Thursday's game in Arizona, but has not named a starter for Saturday yet.
