Saturday’s miserable defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Devils appears to be having consequences. At practice on Sunday morning, head coach Todd Reirden announced that rookie goalie Ilya Samsonov will start against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.
From the beat writers:
Ilya Samsonov will start in net for the Capitals against Carolina tomorrow, Todd Reirden said.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) January 12, 2020
Samsonov will start tomorrow vs. Carolina, per Reirden.
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) January 12, 2020
Ilya Samsonov will be in net Monday vs Carolina, per Reirden.
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) January 12, 2020
Samsonov will start tomorrow against Carolina, per Reirden
— JJ Regan (@JJRegan41) January 12, 2020
Samsonov, 22, has a 12-2-1 record so far in his NHL career, a franchise record. He is the first goalie in NHL history to win all of his first eight road games. He has saved 93.2 percent of the 351 shots he’s faced during five-on-five play so far, much higher than Braden Holtby‘s 90.6 percent on 714 shots.
Holtby allowed four goals on 21 shots in Saturday’s loss to the Devils. He has not saved above 90 percent in all situations in a single game since December 21.
Read more: Maybe we’re all just spoiled
The Capitals, loser of two straight games, will host the Carolina Hurricanes, on a three-game winning streak, at 7 PM on Monday night.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong
