The Toronto Maple Leafs owe Ilya Samsonov a steak dinner.
Samsonov earned his second consecutive start after stopping 16 of 17 shots against Seattle on Sunday, and he was the team’s best player on Wednesday by a wide margin. The Leafs had scored a goal in 190 straight games entering play, and if it wasn’t for their goaltender, this streak would be all but over. Auston Matthews scored the game’s only goal in the final minute of overtime, and both Morgan Rielly and Nick Robertson earned well-deserved assists.
It wasn’t pretty, as a depleted Jets roster outplayed the Leafs at five-on-five, and Toronto’s power play was dreadful. However, it was nice to see Samsonov look like the 2022-23 version of himself, and the Leafs will take points any way they can get them at the moment.
3 Stars:
- Ilya Samsonov
- Nick Robertson
- Conor Timmins