The Washington Capitals open the 2022-23 season with an immediate challenge. They play back-to-back games against two Eastern Conference teams that made the playoffs last season. Game One on Wednesday will be the Capitals’ Home Opener – a nationally televised game against the Boston Bruins – and Game Two will serve as a great measuring stick between two tired teams.
The Capitals will fly up to Toronto to take on the 54-win Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. The game will serve as the Leafs’ Home Opener after they play the Montreal Canadiens the night before.
Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe will have something fun awaiting the Capitals when they take the ice. Keefe will start former Capital Ilya Samsonov in net.
“(Matt) Murray will go Wednesday and (Ilya) Samsonov will go Thursday,” Keefe said to the media after practice on Monday. “We’ll start that way and make our decisions from there. We have a bit of plan for how things would go, but the plan changes every day. Going back-to-back is pretty straight forward and we’ll go from there.”
When asked if the Capitals being the opponent factored into his decision, Keefe said it did not.
“It’s just a matter that we really wanted Murray to get the first game,” Keefe said. “The schedule is what it is. It’s not absolutely ideal, but maybe it is. I haven’t talked to Sammy about that specifically. It’ll be our Home Opener and his former team coming in so there’ll be a lot of excitement around that.”
Like the Capitals, the Maple Leafs have two brand new starters in net. After being unable to re-sign Frederik Andersen, Toronto traded Ottawa for former Penguin and two-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray. They followed that up by signing Samsonov on the first day of free agency to a one-year, $1.8 million contract. Both players are both competing to be the team’s number-one starter in net.
“Sammy has been terrific,” Keefe said when detailing his play in Training Camp. “I thought both goalies in practice (today) were really, really strong right from the goalie session into the practice. I thought those guys — in my mind — made a statement in practice with how they competed and how solid they were in net.”
Samsonov posted a 1.81 GAA and a .925 save percentage in two preseason games, giving up three goals on 40 shots.
The Russian netminder was long projected to be the Capitals’ full-time starter after Braden Holtby left. Instead, Sammy became an unrestricted free agent over the summer after the Capitals’ decided to non-tender him a qualifying offer. Samsonov was coming off his worst season as a pro in 2021-22 after posting a .896 save percentage and 3.02 GAA in 44 inconsistent games. Caps’ general manager Brian MacLellan decided to cut ties with both of its young goaltenders, including Vitek Vanecek, and start fresh, signing Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren to UFA deals.
Samsonov has spoken no ill will of the Capitals since being let go. During the Leafs’ Media Day, Samsonov admitted that he was surprised “a little bit” that the Capitals did not offer him a contract over the summer, but said, “I understand it’s just a business.”
He also stressed his excitement about his new opportunity with “the best organization in the league.” If Samsonov can have a good season with the Leafs, he will have a big payday awaiting over the summer.
On the other side, Capitals players lamented seeing a young player they tried to help develop leave.
“I’m going to miss Sammy and Vitek,” TJ Oshie said. “When you have not just goaltenders but any young guy that comes up through the organization, you see him go through the progression and see him grow, become close friends, it’s tough to see him go. I certainly wish them the best and we miss them here.”
Two of Samsonov’s closest friends on the team, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin, were equally as circumspect.
“I haven’t yet say goodbye to him,” Kuznetsov said of Samsonov. “I was with him a lot this summer. I wish him all the best. As a friend, you always want him to be successful. I hope that everything is going to work out with him and he’s going to play well. Tough environment (in Toronto) to be around. So far it sounds like they have pretty good guys inside the team. They help him and there is not a lot of people that speak Russian over there so his English will be better.”
“Every year some new guys come in and changes all that’s happening,” Alex Ovechkin added. “That’s hockey business. You make a friendship and it’s hard to see your friends and good players go, but we players, it’s not up to us.”
Headline photo: Steven Ellis/@StevenEllisTHN
