Ilya Samsonov makes statement performance on Long Island originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
A major focus for the Capitals in the final 10 games of the regular season is playing the right way in preparation for the playoffs. For a Washington team whose biggest question mark heading into the postseason is going to be its goaltending, Ilya Samsonov's brilliant performance in net on Thursday was a huge statement to his team, the coaches and perhaps even the rest of the division.
There are a myriad of reasons why Thursday's game between the Capitals and New York Islanders was an important one. The Caps and Islanders were tied for first in the East Division with only a one-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Thursday's game was the first of a three-game series between Washington and New York and the first of the Caps' brutal final 10-game schedule. Washington had yet to win on Long Island this season in two prior games.
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This game mattered and the big question surrounding the Caps was if they had a goalie who could win against top competition when it mattered.
Samsonov got the start Thursday and turned aside all 26 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season in one of the biggest games the team has played in the 2021 season.
Twenty-six is not a huge number of shots, but 15 in a period is and that's how many shots the Islanders poured on Samsonov in the first. New York star Mathew Barzal even was denied on a breakaway as Samsonov kept Washington in it through the first 20 minutes. Without that start from Samsonov, this game would have gone very differently than a 1-0 shootout win for the Caps.
“Yeah he was really sharp in the first," head coach Peter Laviolette said. "He had to make a few good ones in the second, a few good ones in the third, but it could have been, you know, while we were finding our legs from those three days off, he gave us an opportunity to come back in the second and third period and play a really strong game. I thought he made big saves the entire night, but most of them were in the first period.”
Samsonov tracked the puck extremely well and used his athleticism to stick with the more frantic opportunities. Every time the Islanders tried to sneak a shot through a scrum or on a sharp angle, Samsonov was well-positioned for the save.
"When it’s going to be tight like this game turned out to be, you’re going to have to rely on him at some point and he came up huge," John Carlson said. "They weren’t just good saves. They were great saves every time they did break through us. That was the difference.”
Washington's goaltending has been under scrutiny all season because of its tandem of two young netminders. Though the team has found success in the regular season with the duo of Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek, it was thought general manager Brian MacLellan may bring in a veteran at the trade deadline to bolster the position. The trade deadline came and went without a goalie addition, however, and now the Caps are all-in on Samsonov and Vanecek, two goalies with zero NHL playoff experience between them.
But someone has to be No. 1.
In addition to being a tune-up for the playoffs, these final games are also an audition for which goalie will start in the playoffs.
When both are available, Samsonov and Vanecek have split playing time all season as Laviolette has thus far avoided naming one goalie the No.1 over another. You have to wonder if Samsonov suddenly has the edge to start Game 1 of the playoffs after a performance like he had on Thursday.
Granted, while Thursday's game was significant, it still was not the playoffs and there just is no substitute for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thursday's performance also won't mean much if Samsonov lays an egg in his next start. But if this game was a sign of things to come and the level to which Samsonov will play this postseason, then the Caps are in better shape between the pipes than people may think.
