Ilya Samsonov Update – Some Days It Doesn’t Pay to Go into the Office

Photos: KHL

It was on October 18, 2017 when Metallurg Magnitogorsk had a rematch with their opponent from the 2016 Gagarin Cup Finals; i.e. CSKA. In 2016, Metallurg Magnitogorsk won that series in seven games, winning Game 7 on the road. However, this most recent match between the two teams did not go well for Magnitka.

First Period
The game started off badly when Kirill Petrov scored a goal for CSKA just 1:42 into the contest. Less than two minutes had elapsed when Greg Scott scored a power play goal for CSKA at the 3:23 mark. This prompted Magnitka Head Coach, Ilya Vorobiov, to switch goalies, replacing starting goalie Vasily Koshechkin, with Ilya Samsonov. Koshechkin had given up 2 goals on 5 shots in just 3:27 minutes of play.

After the goalie switch, Petrov of CSKA took a penalty and Nikita Pivsakin of Magnitka scored nearly a minute after the ensuing power play, getting assists by Sergei Mozyakin and Yaroslav Kosov. The score was now 2-1 in favor of CSKA, given Magnitka some hope.

However, at the 7:30 mark, Kirill Kaprizov scored a goal for CSKA, earning his one hundredth point for his KHL career and restoring CSKA’s 2 goal lead. At 12:27, Maxim Shalunov added the fourth goal for CSKA at they now lead 4-1 which was the score going into the first intermission. For that period, CSKA had outshot Magnitka by nearly a 3:1 ratio as CSKA had 22 shots while Magnitka had only 7.

Second Period
The second period went no better for Magnitka. Just over two minutes into the period, former NHL player, Alexi Marchenko, scored the fifth goal for CSKA. Nearly two minutes later, Valeri Nichushkin, who had played three seasons in the NHL for the Dallas Stars, scored CSKA’s sixth goal as CSKA now lead 6-1. Evgeny Timkin added another goal for Magnitka, making the score 6-2 which was the score at the end of two periods.

Third Period and Recap
During the third period, Nikita Nesterov, who had formerly played in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning, added yet another goal for CSKA. That resulted in the score being 7-2 which was the final.

Samsonov made 37 saves out of the 42 shots he faced for a save percentage of .881 for the day.

For the entire game, CSKA had 47 shots on goal while Magnitka had 23 shots on goal and scored twice. Samsonov’s save percentage for the season is now .914. It was a great day for Kirill Kaprisov who had one goal and two assists on the day he earned his one hundredth KHL point.

It was a rough day, all in all for Magnitka, as their goalies were beleaguered with shots. Some days it just does not pay to go into the office.

Before this game, Samsonov appeared briefly in relief in the game on October 16. He played most of the game on October 10 when he was removed in the middle of the third period after giving up two goals during that period. At the time of his removal, the score was tied 4-4. Magnitka won 5-4 in Overtime.

Link to Photo Gallery from Game

By Diane Doyle