In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs’ News & Rumors, I’ll take a quick look at last night’s game as well as report some of the news leading up to tonight’s second game of a home-and-home series with the Detroit Red Wings.
You can never accuse Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe of worrying about testing his charges. Last night’s game was one where he threw his young players to the wolves; and, they almost won. The final score was 4-2 in favour of Detroit.
Related: Maple Leafs Commentary: How Much Worse Are the New Goalies?
The Maple Leafs’ team that was iced was far faster than the Red Wings and played with a ton of energy. They just needed more size and more experience. However, as I note below, they didn’t need a better goalie. All in all, coach Keefe had to have learned a lot about his young players.
Item One: Ilya Samsonov Shines in Loss to Red Wings
Last night’s game was not a game anyone should have expected the young Maple Leafs to win. Actually, when I saw the lineup yesterday I wondered in my post how the goalie would fare. While I was anxious (in a good way) to watch the game, I knew it could have been a blowout.
In short, the young Maple Leafs played much better than expected against NHL-level players. Coach Keefe had to know what he was doing, and he used the game to test his youngsters. They looked faster than their opponents but much less experienced.
But the player who really stood out for me was goalie Ilya Samsonov. I read in one game review that his saves were so good that they generated a buzz on the bench and growing confidence among the team. That’s an awfully good sign.
In truth, the young Maple Leafs were overmatched in size, experience, and perhaps even talent. But they were not out-goalied. In fact, the Red Wings generated a number of high-quality chances that Samsonov was able to flick aside. He often made it look easy.
Perhaps making it look easy is a combination of Samsonov’s confidence and his athleticism. He’s looked nothing like a castoff to me in any of the preseason games I’ve seen. He carried a large group of soon-to-be Toronto Marlies to an almost win. I watched the game highlights from a Detroit feed, and the Red Wings’ announcers admitted it was a well-contested game.
Related: Most Games Played By a Goalie in One NHL Season
The box score won’t look good for him, but once again Samsonov stepped up to…
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