As the Toronto Maple Leafs were defending their lead late in the third period against the Edmonton Oilers, the front-of-mind goal was to keep Edmonton’s high-danger scoring chances at bay and use a three-goal lead to survive the expected onslaught.
However, the Oilers started to claw their way back with a goal with under four minutes to go to turn the score to 5–3. Unfortunately in the play, Samsonov was also injured.
Samsonov leaves game, Jones comes in
The Leafs’ goaltender was in discomfort for a few minutes before getting up and leaving the ice on his accord. The extent of Samsonov’s injury will be revealed later on.
Samsonov finished the game playing 56:21 and saving 31 of 34 shots he faced fora. .921 save percentage. Jones came into the game cold and had the task of keeping the Oilers out of the net, and he stopped all five shots he faced in the final 3:39 of the game.
The Leafs sealed the deal as Auston Matthews added a late empty-netter with just seconds to go in the game.
What’s next for the Leafs
For now, the hope is that Samsonov’s injury isn’t too serious and that he could be day-to-day. Samsonov has played the most games among Toronto’s three goals as he has made 34 starts. Meanwhile, Jones has 18 starts while Joseph Woll has 17.
If Samsonov’s injury is worse than it seems, then the Leafs can comfortably turn to Jones and Woll for the balance of the season.
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