Washington Capitals: Final predictions for Ilya Samsonov
Final predictions for Washington Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov.
The Washington Capitals are entering a unique situation in their state of the crease this season. Gone is Braden Holtby and we all miss him as well as the team. In the starter’s net will be Ilya Samsonov and he’s ready to shine as he enters his sophomore season.
On the first day of training camp, John Carlson and T.J. Oshie both told the media how much they’ll miss Holtby. Oshie said via Samantha Pell of The Washington Post (subscription required): “Losing a guy like Holts is tough. He’s kind of the backbone of our team for a while. … I wish him and family all the best. He’s got some old Caps with him, so I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”
The Caps have moved on with turning to 23 year old Ilya Samsonov. He had a solid rookie season last year going 16-6-2 in 26 games with a 2.55 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. He described his upcoming season as an important one.
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Samsonov said via Pell: “I never been first goalie, but I’m ready for next level right now. This is an important season for me. I will be ready for start of season.”
Samsonov never played in the bubble due to an injury from an ATV accident in his native Russia. His neck and shoulder were impacted. He said he felt much better than he did six months ago. He rehabbed in Washington this offseason instead of Russia and took part in the team’s informal workouts.
Head coach Peter Laviolette has been impressed with what he’s seen from Samsnov so far in practice. The challenge is he’ll get thrown into the fire right away with no preseason games.
So we’ve hit on a bunch of topics regarding Samsonov in the past but it’s time for final predictions. Now we know the number of games the season will go plus the goaltending situation is more clear. Samsonov has to step up with the absence of Henrik Lundqvist and the competition behind him.
The Caps had three goalies play the last time there was a shortened season with Holtby taking the load playing 36 games. Let’s go with that number for Samsonov in a 56 game season. Samsonov will go 24-10-2 with a 2.40 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.
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Look for Samsonov later today getting the start in goal at the team’s intrasquad scrimmage on the Caps social media channels. The puck drops at 4 p.m.