Washington Capitals: After a slow start, Ilya Samsonov makes goaltending situation more interesting

I’ll admit it. We at Stars and Sticks have been very tough on Ilya Samsonov. Maybe not me necessarily but I have given my honest opinions. That being when he’s head is in the game he is as good of a goaltender as it gets. But when his head isn’t he’s inconsistent. And he’s gotta behave off the ice (so far so good this season as far as we all know).

Then there’s the stuff contributors CJ and David wrote. David said Vitek Vanecek can simply be trusted over the Russian goalie. CJ went the length of suggesting the Caps should trade Samsonov. If he read our articles, he used them as motivation based on his last two games.

Samsonov made 34 saves in a shutout effort against the Los Angeles Kings. He got awarded from Washington Capitals head Coach Peter Laviolette with another straight start. In that game against the San Jose Sharks, he stopped all 22 shots he faced for a second straight shutout. He stopped a combined 56 shots in those two games.

Samsonov is 6-0-1 with a 2.11 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. So why the Samsonov slander?

Looking at numbers from SportLogiq, let’s compare his previous starts with his last two:

Expected Goals Against

Oct. 19-Nov. 12: 2.64

Nov. 17-20: 2.05

Goals against

Oct. 19-Nov. 12: 2.93

Nov. 17-20: 0

Shots against

Oct. 19-Nov. 12: 27.9

Nov. 17-20: 27.5

Slot shots against

Oct. 19-Nov. 12: 6.2

Nov. 17-20: 5

Goals saved above expected

Oct. 19-Nov. 12: -0.28

Nov. 17-20: 2.05

Breaking it down for the non stats nerds, Samsonov basically faced the same amount of shots as in his last two games as his previous ones but few came from high danger areas. This, in turn, leads to a low expected goals against. He also went from a negative in goals saved above expected to over 2.0.

Samsonov told the media after his start Saturday night:

"“My mental, you know, it is much easier. My body is more loose and it is much easier to move … there is a lot of positives. I will keep working every day and I am better and better. Really hungry for the win.”"

Samsonov was signed to just a one year prove it deal over the summer worth two million. The Caps even reacquired Vitek Vanecek back from the Seattle Kraken. This sent a message to the 24 year old, put up or (in this case) pack your bags. If he keeps up his swagger from the last two games, the goaltending is going to be the hottest debate around Washington from now through the summer until Brian MacLellan has to make a choice.