Samsonov continues career rebirth

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov knows the time is coming (very soon) when his life will change forever, with sleepless nights in the forecast.

It has nothing to do with success or failure in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Samsonov’s wife, Mariya, is expecting their first baby, a son, in the next few days.

“Nervous and excited, too,” said Samsonov. “This is a new experience for me. You never know, but what I know is, this life — my life — is going to be changing. Maybe less sleep, up at night.”

Samsonov remained in Toronto over the weekend while Matt Murray took the net in Ottawa, with Joseph Woll backing up for Saturday’s 5-4 shootout win.

“I want to say thank you (to the) organization for giving me some extra time,” said Samsonov.

Coach Sheldon Keefe mentioned the goalie was also a little banged up. Whatever the ailment, it remained undisclosed Monday as the Leafs prepared for Tuesday night’s road date with the New York Islanders. Samsonov would only say that it was unrelated to the knee injury that sidelined him earlier in the season.

“As we can all imagine, he’s on edge a little bit just making sure that things are taken care of,” Keefe said. “He’ll be a first-time dad … Giving him that day (off ) was both an opportunity for him to rest and deal with the things that he’s been dealing with medically, but also just be there for his wife.”

It’s a big year all around for the 26-year-old Samsonov, who was discarded by the Washington Capitals.

The Leafs had shown interest when the goalie was still under contract in Washington, hoping to trade for his rights, but the Capitals let him walk as an unrestricted free agent when they became fixated on signing Stanley Cup champion Darcy Kuemper.

Samsonov signed a one-year, show-me contract worth $1.8 million (U.S.) in hopes that it would lead to a bigger payday. He’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer and, so far, the season has worked out just about as well as he and Leafs fans might have hoped. He’s 24-8-3 with a .917 save percentage overall, but his road record has been a bit of a head-scratcher (6-6-1, .900).

Keefe credits goalie coach Curtis Sanford.

“In the off-season, Curtis Sanford and (Samsonov) really set out a good plan and got to work, and they’ve been very consistent with it,” Keefe said. “Curtis’s demeanour is, he doesn’t get too excited when things are going great, doesn’t get too down or rattled when things aren’t. And I think he’s able to transfer that on to the goaltenders.

“That’s allowed Samsonov to settle in. He’s had some bumps along the way, and he rectifies (himself) really quickly, which is what you’re looking for. It’s a credit to them for putting in the work, and Curtis has done a really good job with them.”