Former Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov will make his Vegas Golden Knights debut against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Golden Knights have won their first two games of the season with Adin Hill in goal, and despite his numbers looking a bit subpar, the 28-year-old has done enough to win both outings.
With the third game in five nights, HC Bruce Cassidy said the plan was always to play Hill for the two games and give Samsonov one of the three.
"Samsonov is gonna play tomorrow. We want to get both goalies involved," said Cassidy. "So that was the plan all along. Adin would play two of the first three, and it happened to be the first two. So Sammy is going in, and you'll see him back in there next week, too."
Samsonov, now 27 years old, was a former 22nd overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft. His first three seasons with the Capitals had its ups and downs and when his entry-level contract was up, the Capitals elected not to tender him a qualifying offer and allow him to become a free agent. The Maple Leafs had watched Frederik Andersen and Jack Campbell leave in free agency in back-to-back years and were in need of a new netminder. The Maple Leafs took a flyer on Samsonov and it paid off for the first of two seasons.
In his first campaign with the Maple Leafs, he played in 42 games, recording a .919SV% and a 2.33GAA. He also helped them win their first playoff series in 19 years as well. His second season with the club was a different story. He recorded just a .890SV% and a 3.13GAA in 40 starts and was demoted to their AHL team, the Toronto Marlies, for a brief stint midway through the season.
When the Golden Knights traded Logan Thompson to the Capitals, many wondered what direction the Golden Knights would go while looking for a backup to Hill. When they landed on Samsonov, the consensus was that the move would be solely banking on him finding the form he had in 2022-23.
