Maple Leafs name starting goalie for Game 4 vs. Panthers

He was injured early in the second period of Sunday’s Game 3 when his teammate, defenseman Luke Schenn, crashed into him while jockeying for position with Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe. Samsonov took several minutes to get up and left the game, which the Leafs were winning 1-0 at the time, and was replaced by rookie Joseph Woll. The Panthers went on to win 3-2 in overtime, with Sam Reinhart scoring the winner, catching Woll off guard on a wraparound.

On Monday, the Leafs indicated Samsonov was “feeling better” but needed a precautionary MRI for his upper-body injury. He’s considered day-to-day after being ruled out officially for the do-or-die Game 4.

Keefe named Woll the starter for Game 4 and indicated there was no consideration to starting the now-healthy Matt Murray, who hasn’t seen game action since suffering a head injury in early April. Woll stopped 18 of 21 shots in Game 3 for a pedestrian .857 save percentage, but the stats didn’t tell the full story; he didn’t have much of a chance on the Panthers’ first two goals, one of which came on a breakaway and the other on a deflection off Verhaeghe’s backside, and he made several important stops for the Leafs to preserve a tie in the third period. Keefe praised Woll earlier this week and suggested the moment “wasn’t too big” for him.

Woll, 24, is the Leafs’ top netminding prospect. He delivered an All-Star season with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and excelled at the NHL level late in 2022-23, posting a 6-1-0 record and .932 save percentage.