Standing Ovation Samsonov

When the afternoon began and Ilya Samsonov took the ice to start game three, many Washington Capitals fans, myself included, were nervous. The talented young goaltender has failed to live up to his lofty expectations for years and had never won a playoff game. By early evening, “Sammy! Sammy! Sammy!” chants rained down upon the young netminder in the nation’s capital.

An .896 save percentage and a goals against average of 3.02 in the regular season left a lot to be desired for Samsonov, who has long-been expected to be the team’s number one netminder. Inconsistent performances have been the story of not only this season but of his young career. All of that will be forgotten if he puts together more playoff performances like he did this afternoon.

The young netminder stole the show as the Capitals picked up a huge game three win, 6-1 over the Florida Panthers to take a commanding 2-1 series lead. After allowing a soft-goal from the top of the circle off the rush, early in the first, to stake the Panthers a 1-0 lead, Sammy was lights out. He stopped every other shot he faced to earn his first playoff win – many of them on grade-A chances.

A timely left-pad stop in the second period just seconds before Marcus Johansson netted a beautiful backhander to make it 2-1 Capitals was the highlight of an afternoon filled of them for Ilya Samsonov. Finishing the night with 29 saves on 30 chances, Samsonov was the team’s best player all afternoon long.

The challenge now for Samsonov is to repeat the performance in game four and put a chokehold on the series for his team. But, if, the crowd serenading his name in a huge playoff game is the turning point of his career, the Capitals are going to be a very tough out in the playoffs. Only time will tell.