By Stan Smith

There is no “Good” or anything merely “Bad” in this game. It was all Ugly. 

It is only the second time the Maple Leafs have given up nine goals in the past 32 years. The other time was a 9-2 loss to the Nashville Predators in 2014. Jonathan Bernier was the starter in that game and got the hook after giving up six goals in the first period. James Reimer gave up three more in relief. Phil Kessel, Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak, and John Van Riemsdyk were the Maple Leafs’ core forwards at the time.  Dionne Phaneuf and Roman Polak anchored the defence.  

One interesting note in that game is that Calle Jarnkrok had a goal and an assist for Nashville. 

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The Maple Leafs Simply Didn’t Show Up Against the Sabres

The game in Buffalo was a complete team (lack of) effort as only two players were not minus in plus/minus. Matthews Knies and William Nylander were both zero. Everyone else was minus one or worse. Max Domi and Conor Timmins were both minus four. Tyler Bertuzzi and Simon Benoit were both minus three. 

The one odd thing about this game is if you looked at the underlying stats from Naturalstattrick you would think they were from a completely different game. The Shot Attempts were only 65-62 Buffalo, and the High-Danger Scoring Chances were 13-7 Buffalo. The Expected Goals were 3.10 Sabres and 2.15 Maple Leafs.  

The difference? Goaltending; and, more specifically Ilya Samsonov.

It Made Sense to Start Samsonov Against the Sabres, But …

I completely understood the decision to start Samsonov in this game. Yes, he has struggled and Martin Jones has played well since being called up. But, even with his struggles, Samsonov had only lost one game in regulation this season. In a busy week that sees them playing three games in five nights, it made sense to start Samsonov in one of those games.  

But, five goals on 19 shots? With two of those goals being total whiffs by Samsonov is just not good enough.  

Head Coach Sheldon Keefe put a lot of the blame on the skaters in front of Samsonov in his post-game presser. The fact of the matter is when a team has lost confidence in their goalie they are not going to play well in front of him. They are going to be uptight, and make mistakes.  

By the time Jones came into the game, the score was 5-3. It created a situation where the Maple Leafs had to take offensive chances. Toronto has been able to come back from down two goals several times this season. However, playing from that far behind is not sustainable. Buffalo took advantage of the pressing Maple Leafs and the fact that Jones was not any better. He allowed four goals on 15 shots. At some point, it was just a matter of getting the game over with. However many more goals the Sabres scored were irrelevant. 

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What To Do About Goaltending?

You could tell by Samsonov’s body language and how he answered questions following the game he was in a terrible place mentally. (Note: Who decided to let Samsonov face the media following the game?) 

In my opinion, there’s no way he should be back in the net any time soon. He looks as close to a mental breakdown as I have ever seen a professional athlete. The Maple Leafs need to give Samsonov the time, and the help, he needs to try and regain his composure.  

The only problem for the Maple Leafs is they play two back-to-back sets in six days just before and just after New Year’s. They play in Columbus on December 29th and return home to face the Carolina Hurricane on the 30th. Then they fly to the West Coast and play in Los Angeles on the second followed by a game in Anaheim on the third. 

The timing could not be worse regarding the Maple Leafs goaltending crisis. 

What I Would Do About the Maple Leafs Goalie Situation

Toronto has 22-year-old rookie Dennis Hildeby with the Marlies. He is near the top of the AHL in Save Percentage (0.927) and Goals Against Average (1.92 GAA). In 12 starts he has a record of 7-3-2. He has two shutouts and has only allowed more than three goals in a game once. He has allowed two or fewer goals in seven games. 

I would give Hildeby one of the two games on the 29th and 30th. At the very least it gives him a taste of the NHL; and, you never know how he might perform. To those who say having a 22-year-old who has only played in 12 games in North America is rushing him, I answer that it is only one game. Even if he struggles it is still an experience for him and a taste of the NHL. Joseph Woll was in a similar situation and he survived.

There are a handful of young goalies in the league. The starter for Buffalo who got the win in the 9-3 game is 21 years old – Devon Levi. 

With the players the Maple Leafs have on LTIR, they can work out enough cap room to carry three goalies for a stretch. If Hildeby plays well enough in the one game take him on the West Coast trip. Give him another start. 

You can’t start Jones in four games in six nights. If he were to get hurt, Toronto would be completely screwed in goal. If not Jones, as a Maple Leafs fan who would you rather see in between the pipes?  Samsonov or Hildeby?

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