Islanders hand Leafs their worst loss of the season: Game Highlights

It was a battle of the Ilyas between Sorokin on Samsonov on Tuesday night. The Leafs got an early lead but New York scored seven of the next eight goals. It was the most lopsided loss of the year for Toronto. Below are the highlights from the game.
Mitch Marner got the Leafs first scoring chance of the night. He weaved through the Islanders defence to create something out of nothing but Sorokin shut the door…

Marner wills his way to the net pic.twitter.com/X8Q7gudedd
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 21, 2023

Just over halfway into the first period Sam Lafferty opened the scoring. Timothy Liljegren’s point shot pinballed off him and Scott Mayfield and into the net. That’s Lafferty’s first goal in the blue and white. Bobby McMann picks up his first career NHL point as well…

LAFFS’ FIRST IN THE BLUE & WHITE!! 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/RZX1CxY9H0
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 21, 2023

A few minutes later Sorokin put in his bid for save of the year. He reached back and absolutely robbed Erik Gustafsson with the paddle to keep the Isles within one…

Ilya Sorokin with a huge denial! ✋ pic.twitter.com/c4xh6Mn5OW
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 22, 2023

Zach Parise tied it up 28 seconds into the second. Mayfield circled the net and his shot banked off Liljegren right onto Parise’s stick. Tough bounce for Ilya Samsonov on that one…

Just like that Zach Parise evens the score for the Islanders 👊 pic.twitter.com/CnTwkYER8p
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 22, 2023

The Leafs nearly took the lead on a shorthanded break from David Kampf. Sorokin came out on top yet again…

Kampf gets a shorthanded break pic.twitter.com/HIst66W0C6
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 22, 2023

Hudson Fasching broke the tie late in the second. Liljegren fanned on the breakout pass and next thing you know it’s in the back of the net…

two zero makes it two one pic.twitter.com/y6SL8kemWE
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) March 22, 2023

The Isles doubled their lead before th …

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Author: Scott Ony / The Leafs Nation

Woll gets the call, Minten continues to impress, Hirvonen heating up: Leafs Prospect Roundup

Ilya Samsonov has taken hold of the number one job in the Leafs’ crease over the last couple of weeks, starting his sixth consecutive game and earning a tidy victory over his former team on Sunday after taking over in relief of Matt Murray against Florida back on January 17th. Murray was slated to start Friday’s game against the Senators, but an ankle injury that he has been dealing with flared up in the warmup, forcing Samsonov into action at the last minute.
After both goalies were given the day off on Saturday, it was announced prior to Sunday’s game that Joseph Woll had been recalled from the Marlies on an emergency basis, signaling that Murray is unavailable for the time being. Woll missed the beginning of the season recovering from an injury of his own, but he has been lights out for the Marlies since returning to action in late November, surpassing Erik Källgren on the depth chart in the process.
Woll has been nothing short of stellar for the Marlies this season, setting the franchise record for consecutive wins when he came away victorious in each of his …

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Author: Nick Richard / The Leafs Nation

hold Ilya Leafs’ number Samsonov taken

Gustafsson nets hatty, Caps torch Leafs in Samsonov’s return to Washington: Muzzy Muzings

Suffice it is to say, it wasn’t the return to Washington Ilya Samsonov was hoping for.
Erik Gustafsson netted a hat trick as the Capitals smoked the Leafs 5-2 to hand Toronto back-to-back regulation losses for the first time this season.
Classic. Guy doesn’t score for 32 games only to erupt for three goals…always against the Leafs, right?
Charlie Lindgren was outstanding, especially in the second frame when the Leafs outshot the Capitals 14-6. He made 34 stops to improve to 6-1-0 in his past seven outings. As for Samsonov, the 25-year-old surrendered five goals on 28 shots in his first back in D.C. since Washington elected to move on from him last summer. He fell to 9-3-0 on the season; that was his first loss since October 29th.
Meantime, Michael Bunting’s 10 game point streak came to an end. Also, Alex Ovechkin failed to score, he’s still one goal back of Gordie Howe for second all-time in NHL goal scoring.
Auston Matthews had one and one while Conor Timmins notched his fifth assist in the past three contests.

Muzzy’s Muzings:
TOUGH START & TOUGH FINISH
For the second straight outing, the Leafs were scored on first. Honestly, it reminded me a lot of Thursday night’s game in New York. They were just a bit off. And again, that’s going to happen from time to time; it’s a tough leag …

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Author: Nick Alberga / The Leafs Nation

Ilya return Samsonov Suffice Washington wasn’t

Maple Leafs goaltending is a question mark, just like every other year

Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov — your Maple Leafs goaltending tandem on opening night — are you ready for it?
It’s been an interesting week for Toronto, first trading away Petr Mrazek to Chicago at the draft and moving down a few picks. Many knew it was going to be a slim goaltending market with Jack Campbell likely headed to Edmonton, but I don’t know if anyone saw the Maple Leafs going out and getting Murray right before free agency began.
The same for Samsonov on Wednesday — Toronto didn’t know he was going to be a free agent until a few days prior to July 13th. The 25-year-old pretty much fell into their lap. Now, the question is, can one of them, or maybe even both of them, turn out to be a good pickup?
If you were watching TSN’s goaltending panel on Wednesday, you know what they all thought. This is going to be a disaster.
The fact of the matter, though, is that it likely won’t be a calamity. Both netminders are coming into this organization with something to prove. Samsonov, to show that he can return to the form he had when he entered the NHL. Murray, to prove that he’s not injury prone and that he can make it …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

Ilya Maple Matt Murray Samsonov your