The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-0 at the Canadian Tire Centre last night! After a dazzling thirty-one save shutout performance, Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov led the way. Despite outshooting the Maple Leafs thirty-one to twenty, the Maple Leafs netminder stood strong en route to the blue and whites victory.
In the opening period, the Ottawa Senators came out strong, testing the Maple Leafs goaltender early. After an early power-play opportunity for the Senators went to waste, the blue and white started to find their rhythm. With both goaltenders standing strong through the first twenty, the game was tied at zero heading into the intermission.
In the middle frame, it was all about the Maple Leafs, who scored not one, not two, but three unanswered! Michael Bunting opened up the scoring only 1:23 into the second period. After a beautiful spin shot in the slot by Michael Bunting, the puck went right over the glove of Senators goaltender Mads Sogaard and into the goal.
Around ten minutes after the Maple Leafs took a 1-0 lead, Maple Leafs star William Nylander ended his offensive slump. After receiving a pass off his skate, the 26-year-old forward quickly took the puck on his forehand and wristed one up high on Mads Sogaard. It was a perfectly placed shot from Nylander, who scored his thirty-seventh goal of the season.
Once the Maple Leafs went up by a pair thanks to Michael Bunting and William Nylander. In his first game in the blue and white threads, forward Radim Zohorna scored his first National Hockey League goal of the season. After a beautifully placed wrist shot that just went over the pad of Mads Sogaard, the Leafs now had a three goal lead late in the period heading into the second intermission.
Once the final frame kicked off, the Ottawa Senators bounced right back but were still yet to beat Ilya Samsonov. Despite peppering the 26-year-old Leafs goaltender in the third, Ilya Samsonov held his ground the whole way through. After both sides went back and forth, the clock eventually started to wind down as the Maple Leafs got the shutout. After one of the better games defensively the blue and white have played, there’s no denying the brilliance from Ilya Samsonov last night in Ottawa.
After a victory in Ottawa last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have to turn the page quickly as they host the Detroit Red Wings tonight. I’d expect the Maple Leafs to start goaltender Matt Murray looking to rebound after a tough loss in Raleigh. The 28-year-old goaltender’s last start wasn’t his best performance, but I’m extremely confident in Matt Murray and his ability in goal. It should be a high-flying game tonight at Scotiabank Arena; make sure you don’t miss out on hopefully another Maple Leafs victory!
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