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Washington Capitals: Ilya Samsonov easily earns MVP against Islanders

By Michael Marzzacco

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 04: Carl Hagelin #62 congratulates Ilya Samsonov #30 of the Washington Capitals after the Capitals win 2-1 during the third period of the game against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on October 04, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. This was Ilya Samsonov's NHL debut. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 04: Carl Hagelin #62 congratulates Ilya Samsonov #30 of the Washington Capitals after the Capitals win 2-1 during the third period of the game against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on October 04, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. This was Ilya Samsonov's NHL debut. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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In a hostile environment against a tough team that’s well coached, rookie Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov stood tall.

Ilya Samsonov has ranked at the top of the Washington Capitals prospect lists over the years. On Friday night, the fans finally got to see him get his first taste of NHL action. Yes there was plenty of Capitals red in the stands of that Coliseum.

Samsonov, the new backup to Braden Holtby this season, made 25 saves. It was a game that was the start of a new era no matter what happens to Holtby but if the Caps are unable to afford a contract extension, they should feel at ease with the game Samsonov had and his future potential.

The Capitals had him high on their draft board back in 2015 and drafted him 22nd overall. It was the first goalie they drafted in nearly 10 years that high. The last time was 2006 when they selected Semyon Varlamov with the 23rd pick. Ironically, that was the goaltending matchup.

Samsonov stopped 25-of-26 shots including the only two shots he faced while the Islanders were on the power play for a .962 save percentage.

Capitals head coach Todd Reirden told Mike Vogel of WashingtonCaps.com:

"“I thought he played great. He looked very comfortable in there. I’m not surprised; that’s how he has looked this year in particular since he has returned. In practice just the composure that he has, the confidence that he gives the bench; he definitely looks the part and was the part for sure tonight. Bad bounce that goes off one of our players into the net, otherwise he is rock solid. So that was a great first game for me for a highly touted prospect, especially playing that position. That was a real strong game.”"

It was a good night overall for Washington sports fans. Out on the west coast, the Washington Nationals won Game 2 of the NLDS to even the series heading back home.

On the other side of the country it was Samsonov who was bestowed the Nationals batting helmet after the game. He even got pied from shaving cream during his postgame interview.

Samsonov told Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post (subscription required) in a Russian-language interview:

"“I thought I was going to be more nervous, but no, I felt normal. The guys all helped and said there’s nothing scary. I felt great, it was a good game, and I’m happy we won.”"

The future is now for Samsonov and he certainly deserves it after the solid training camp he had. Look for him and Holtby to become the new top 1-2 goalie tandom in the NHL…. at least for this season.

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