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@Toronto Maple Leafs

This was shown during the game last night. By my humble estimation, the leafs win the cup if Sammy starts in the playoffs



Also Sammy won and Bob lost since this was posted. Time for some smiles

by blimjahey

30 Comments

  1. snipingsmurf

    Only Leafs goalie to win a series since 2004.

  2. bspaghetti

    I must say, it would be a great story to go from waivers to Conn Smythe winner in a few months

  3. OkSquirrel4673

    We have a great chance but to think we have any hope of getting past teams in the east is just wrong.

    Boston and Florida are just better teams.

  4. thewolfshead

    Another gift from the previous GM, thanks KD!

  5. My prediction: heā€™ll be stellar in playoffs and actually save the leafs a couple rounds , then they sign him and heā€™s just never the same

  6. vassman86

    For perspective, Sammy was 5-3-6 (3.44 GAA, 0.863 SV %) before getting sent down, and 13-2-0 since returning from his break with a 2.33 GAA and 0.914 SV%

    Most importantly is the eye test. He’s looking real comfortable in net and coming through with big saves on dangerous chances. Glad to see him bounce back. First half of the season was rough for him.

  7. Super_Gur957

    I can’t believe Woll is still even in the conversation right now. Unless something catastrophic happens before the year ends, there isn’t a damn chance anyone is starting in the playoffs but Sammy.

    All those conversations from bozos saying to dump Sammy and ride Woll and an AHL backup are looking mighty hilarious right now.

    The only chance this team had was Sammy getting back on track and thankfully he has.

  8. Part-TimeCat

    I don’t want to be that guy but wins are a team stat. Sammy could be letting in 5 goals a game and as long as the Leafs are putting up 6, it boosts that Win Pct.

    It’s not all negative, though. Since his return to the lineup, among 27 goalies who have played at least 15GP, his save percentage is 11th (0.912), just shy of Demko and Sorokin and ahead of Markstrom, Georgiev, Vasilevskiy, Oettinger. He has a +8.9 GSAx in that timeframe, which puts him 10th on aggregate. He’s playing really well. I just don’t think we should get hung up on Win Pct.

  9. GoldenRichard93

    What about the save percentage stats? I know Samsonov had a rough start to this season, but the Leafs still have blue line issues and the offense being inconsistent (especially the Leafs went 0 and 4 on the PP last night).

    We canā€™t assume the Leafs win the cup if Sammy starts in the playoffs. If the Leafs want to win the cup, they need everyone to contribute as a team, and especially our Core 4 needs to do something. Thereā€™s a reason why we lost to the Panthers last season not because of Bob, our offense canā€™t find other ways to beat Bob.

    Then again, **maybe** this season will be different than last year. We will wait and see.

  10. That’s quite the leap for a guy that was below .900 last month and on the season

    Is it even true? He has 18 wins in 31 starts according to nhl.com

  11. BackgroundInterest83

    Maybe win two rounds of hockey before talking about the cup?

  12. By my estimation, the Leafs will win the cup. Unless there are refs cause they hate usā€¦.

  13. Deserves the start. I hope they give it to him.

  14. I was shocked when they put this graphic up.

    I know he’s been good since he’s been back, but that’s outrageous.

  15. lasagna_for_life

    LOL OP. I love Sammy, and yeah heā€™s hot af right now; but the playoffs are just a completely different game. Our transition defence is what holds us back, and they just canā€™t seem to adjust once the post-season starts. Sammy is standing on his head for us, and heā€™s the beacon of hope we havenā€™t had in years!

  16. Imunhotep

    At the end of the playoffs this season, leaf fans will ask the same questions.

    Where did our Top 6 go?

    Why doesnā€™t the GM address the goaltending issue?

  17. Really happy for Sammy, but I canā€™t even imagine a cup win. I might be jaded, but I just canā€™t see them getting past the refs, especially if Boston and FLA are the opponents. It will be a shit show, as always.

  18. desperatehouseknivez

    Leafs will be lucky to get out of the first round if I’m being honest.

  19. Sammy is the CLEAR playoff starter, you don’t bench a consistently hot performer

  20. billy_zef

    It’s a fact that goaltending wins playoff series.

    Show Sammy’s SV%… The Leafs won’t outscore their defensive issues when playoffs come, as is tradition.

  21. TorturedFanClub

    I dont even know why it should be a discussion at this point. Sammy had been the Leafs best goalie since returning from his mental break. Itā€™s not really close. Unless he turns to shit again in the stretch run, he is the playoff goalie

  22. BeaconJams

    Sammy=Stanley? If only it was that simple! šŸ˜‚

  23. BloomerUniversalSigh

    Except the Leafs don’tĀ  know how to play defense in the playoffs and often leave their goalie out to dry.

  24. awfulWinner

    1. He’s earned the starting spot in the playoffs.
    2. He hasn’t had to stand on his head like Woll did the game he got hurt, but he’s played effectively and at times made fantastic stops throughout his run, game savers.
    3. The team has played MUCH better in front of him instead of leaving him out to dry the way they did early in the season before waivers.

    I was rooting for him in the early days when he was crashing and firmly putting the blame on his play on his teams shoulders (offense for cough ups, defense for being clueless). That said, during his crash&burn season start, he was letting in quite a few soft ‘should have had’ goals that certainly didn’t help.

    He’s not letting those in any more. He’s solid. He makes the saves he needs to. He keeps his team in the game and gives them either a chance to win, or plays effectively whilst the offense goes on a tear.

    Final note.. ALL OF THIS goes out the window if we get Boston in the 1st round. I love Sammy, and I want both him and Woll to succeed. But the way the Leafs get outplayed and bullied off the puck by Boston, it wouldn’t matter if you had in his prime Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur or Dominik Hasik in net.. they’d lose on sheer danger chances and shots. Remember Roy’s last game for the Canadians? That’s what we should expect either of our goalies to be treated to if we get Boston.

    I don’t know why.. I guess our team isn’t tough enough to manhandle Boston AND keep control of the puck.

  25. SMORKIN_LABBIT

    You ride the hot hand while it’s hot and Sammy is hot again and he out played Vassy last year. I’m actually pretty happy going into the playoffs with Sammy and Woll with Jones as parachute…..you need it for a deep run guys always go down and it seems goalies are literally allowed to be targeted for injury by the refs come playoffs. Speaking off the refs based whats going on league wide with the refs they are going to allow a literal murder in the playoffs Friday the 13th style with a machette.

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