Toronto Maple Leafs’ Ilya Samsonov returns from knee injury, will start against San Jose Sharks

He’s back.

After being out of the lineup since Nov. 5, goaltender Ilya Samsonov is set to make his return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night against the San Jose Sharks.

Samsonov was pulled after the second period of Toronto’s meeting with the Boston Bruins earlier this month with a knee injury. While the specific incident that caused the injury is unknown, Samsonov slipped on a penalty shot and wouldn’t return for the third period.

Samsonov had been skating with the Leafs in recent practices, with coach Sheldon Keefe saying he was still day-to-day as of Tuesday. Keefe clarified on Wednesday that he said that to give Samsonov a bit of extra time in case he needed it, but looked ready to go during the morning skate.

The 25-year-old Russian goaltender filled in nicely early in the season after Matt Murray went down with an adductor injury. He posted a 6-2-0 record with a .921 save percentage, putting him near the top of most goaltending categories. The 2015 first-round pick was brought over to Toronto over the summer to make a controversial goaltending pairing with Murray, who struggled with the Ottawa Senators last year. But combined, the pair has exceeded expectations. They have posted a combined 11-3-1 record with a .924 save percentage, making up one of the best goaltending duos in the NHL.

This is the first time that all of Toronto’s goaltenders are healthy. In the AHL, Joseph Woll recently returned after suffering ankle and shoulder injuries that limited his playing time over the past two years. He’s back and working with Dylan Ferguson and Keith Petruzzelli with the Toronto Marlies, while Erik Kallgren acts as the third goalie up with the big club.

It’s a bit of a messy goalie situation in Toronto right now, which The Leafs Nation reporter Nick Barden broke down quite nicely. But for the big club, it’s essential to have their two top guns back in playing shape, and now they can attack with full force moving forward.