It has been a difficult start to the 2020-21 season for Capitals’ goalie, Ilya Samsonov, whose first two games were not up to his usual standards. He then tested positive for COVID-19, had to miss time for recovery and then needed additional time for conditioning with the Hershey Bears.
Many fans recall how he had a difficult first half of the season when he first came over to North America to play for the Bears. NoVa Caps decided to continue analyzing Samsonov’s starts to seasons, with particular attention being paid to his KHL career. His first game in the KHL was during the 2014-15 season, but given the fact that he only played in one game that season, the game will be ignored for purposes of this assessment.
This analysis will start with the 2015-16 season, which was the first year that he spent the vast majority of the season in the KHL and only a handful of games with their MHL affiliate. Playoff games and international competition will not be considered for this analysis.
2015-16 Season
For the 2015-16 season, Samsonov appeared in 19 games for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, posting a record of 6-4-3. Those 19 games included three games where he had a token appearance. Samsonov had several other games where he played just over half the game or 2/3 of the game.
After 10 games, his save percentage was .928. His final save percentage for the season ended up at .925. His weakest stretch was from December 2, 2015 through January 18, 2016, where his appearances were sporadic. He was sent back briefly to the MHL after that. His performance improved upon his return to the KHL. In that season, he did not exhibit a pronounced slow start.
| Nr | Date | Shots | GA | Save | W/L | Game Sv% | Ov Sve% |
| 1 | 9/15/2015 | ||||||
| 2 | 9/20/2015 | 25 | 2 | 23 | W | 0.920 | 0.920 |
| 3 | 10/2/2015 | 16 | 1 | 15 | 0.938 | 0.927 | |
| 4 | 10/9/2015 | 14 | 1 | 13 | L | 0.929 | 0.927 |
| 5 | 10/12/2015 | 20 | 1 | 19 | W | 0.950 | 0.933 |
| 6 | 10/14/2015 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0.934 | ||
| 7 | 10/24/2015 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 0.923 | 0.933 | |
| 8 | 10/26/2015 | 30 | 30 | W | 1.000 | 0.950 | |
| 9 | 10/28/2015 | 36 | 5 | 31 | L | 0.861 | 0.929 |
| 10 | 11/21/2015 | 25 | 2 | 23 | OTW | 0.920 | 0.928 |
| 11 | 11/25/2015 | 0.928 | |||||
| 12 | 11/27/2015 | 36 | 2 | 34 | W | 0.944 | 0.931 |
| 13 | 11/30/2015 | 26 | 26 | W | 1.000 | 0.938 | |
| 14 | 12/2/2015 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0.727 | 0.929 | |
| 15 | 1/18/2016 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 0.800 | 0.919 | |
| 16 | 1/29/2016 | 32 | 1 | 31 | 0.969 | 0.925 | |
| 17 | 2/5/2016 | 32 | 3 | 29 | W | 0.906 | 0.923 |
| 18 | 2/16/2016 | 29 | 1 | 28 | L | 0.966 | 0.926 |
| 19 | 2/18/2016 | 20 | 2 | 18 | OTW | 0.900 | 0.925 |
| Total | 386 | 29 | 357 | 0.925 |
2016-17 Season
For the 2016-17 season, Samsonov appeared in 27 games for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, posting a record of 15-3-5. Those 26 games included five games where he had a token appearance, as in two minutes or less.
After his first nine appearances, his save percentage was .914. After his first fourteen appearances through the game of 11/19/2016, which included three token appearances and three other partial game appearances, his save percentage was .928.
After 18 games; i.e. the 2/3 mark, his save percentage was .934. His final save percentage for the season was .936. He definitely was off to a slow start that season, judging from this first nine games and his subsequent improvement.
| Nr | Date | Shots | GA | Save | W/L | Game Sv% | Ov Sve% |
| 1 | 9/13/2016 | 11 | 2 | 9 | W | 0.818 | 0.818 |
| 2 | 9/15/2016 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.800 | 0.875 | |
| 3 | 9/20/2016 | 26 | 2 | 24 | W | 0.923 | 0.881 |
| 4 | 9/23/2016 | 39 | 1 | 38 | W | 0.974 | 0.926 |
| 5 | 9/26/2016 | 30 | 1 | 29 | W | 0.967 | 0.937 |
| 6 | 10/1/2016 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0.769 | 0.919 | |
| 7 | 10/4/2016 | SOP | 0.919 | ||||
| 8 | 10/6/2016 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0.818 | 0.911 | |
| 9 | 10/13/2016 | 17 | 1 | 16 | W | 0.941 | 0.914 |
| 10 | 10/26/2016 | 34 | 2 | 32 | W | 0.941 | 0.919 |
| 11 | 11/8/2016 | SOP | 0.919 | ||||
| 12 | 11/10/2016 | SOP | 0.919 | ||||
| 13 | 11/12/2016 | 36 | 3 | 33 | W | 0.917 | 0.919 |
| 14 | 11/19/2016 | 43 | 1 | 42 | W | 0.977 | 0.928 |
| 15 | 11/21/2016 | 35 | 35 | W | 1.000 | 0.937 | |
| 16 | 11/23/2016 | 39 | 1 | 38 | W | 0.974 | 0.941 |
| 17 | 11/25/2016 | 35 | 4 | 31 | W | 0.886 | 0.936 |
| 18 | 11/29/2016 | 35 | 3 | 32 | L | 0.914 | 0.934 |
| 19 | 12/8/2016 | 11 | 11 | W | 1.000 | 0.936 | |
| 20 | 1/13/2017 | 23 | 23 | W | 1.000 | 0.951 | |
| 21 | 1/15/2017 | 26 | 2 | 24 | W | 0.923 | 0.938 |
| 22 | 1/18/2017 | 44 | 4 | 40 | L | 0.909 | 0.936 |
| 23 | 1/25/2017 | 39 | 3 | 36 | L | 0.923 | 0.935 |
| 24 | 1/29/2017 | 0.935 | |||||
| 25 | 2/1/2017 | 46 | 4 | 42 | W | 0.913 | 0.933 |
| 26 | 2/3/2017 | SOP | 0.933 | ||||
| 27 | 2/17/2017 | 31 | 31 | SOP | 1.000 | 0.936 | |
| Totals | 629 | 40 | 589 | 0.936 |
2017-18 Season
For the 2017-18 season, Samsonov appeared in 26 games for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, posting a record of 12-9-1. The 27 games included three games where he had played in six minutes or less and two games where he only played about half of the game.
His save percentage was .920 after nine games, including games through 10/1/2017. This was after three strong performances, as his save percentage after six games, through 9/24/2017, was .886.
After 14 games, which included two token appearances, his save percentage was .914, as he was going through a relatively rough stretch during October 2017. After 18 games, through 12/21/2017, his save percentage was also .914.
Samsonov got stronger during the last third of the season as he ended up with an overall save percentage of .926. Overall, his season had a rough start, but he rebounded, then there was a rough stretch through October and November.
| Nr | Date | Shots | GA | Save | W/L | Game Sv% | Ov Sve% |
| 1 | 8/27/2017 | 26 | 4 | 22 | L | 0.846 | 0.846 |
| 2 | 9/5/2017 | 29 | 2 | 27 | W | 0.931 | 0.891 |
| 3 | 9/8/2017 | 24 | 3 | 21 | W | 0.875 | 0.886 |
| 4 | 9/15/2017 | 30 | 4 | 26 | L | 0.867 | 0.881 |
| 5 | 9/22/2017 | 14 | 1 | 13 | L | 0.929 | 0.886 |
| 6 | 9/24/2017 | 35 | 4 | 31 | W | 0.886 | 0.886 |
| 7 | 9/26/2017 | 42 | 2 | 40 | L | 0.952 | 0.900 |
| 8 | 9/28/2017 | 48 | 2 | 46 | W | 0.958 | 0.911 |
| 9 | 10/1/2017 | 28 | 0 | 28 | W | 1.000 | 0.920 |
| 10 | 10/6/2017 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 0.921 | ||
| 11 | 10/8/2017 | 32 | 1 | 31 | W | 0.969 | 0.926 |
| 12 | 10/10/2017 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 0.789 | 0.918 | |
| 13 | 10/16/2017 | 0.918 | |||||
| 14 | 10/18/2017 | 42 | 5 | 37 | L | 0.881 | 0.914 |
| 15 | 10/24/2017 | 25 | 3 | 22 | L | 0.880 | 0.912 |
| 16 | 11/2/2017 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 0.912 | ||
| 17 | 11/22/2017 | 30 | 4 | 26 | L | 0.867 | 0.909 |
| 18 | 12/21/2017 | 35 | 1 | 34 | W | 0.971 | 0.914 |
| 19 | 12/25/2017 | 40 | 4 | 36 | L | 0.900 | 0.913 |
| 20 | 12/27/2017 | 34 | 1 | 33 | W | 0.971 | 0.916 |
| 21 | 1/3/2018 | 23 | 2 | 21 | L | 0.913 | 0.916 |
| 22 | 1/9/2018 | 17 | 1 | 16 | L | 0.941 | 0.917 |
| 23 | 1/18/2018 | 22 | 22 | W | 1.000 | 0.920 | |
| 24 | 1/22/2018 | 32 | 1 | 31 | W | 0.969 | 0.922 |
| 25 | 2/27/2018 | 35 | 35 | W | 1.000 | 0.926 | |
| 26 | 3/1/2018 | 25 | 2 | 23 | W | 0.920 | 0.926 |
| 691 | 51 | 640 | 0.926 |
2018-19 Season
For the 2018-19 season, Samsonov played with the Hershey Bears in the AHL, posting a record of 20-14-3. His save percentage after ten games was .869. After twenty games, the approximate midpoint of the season, he had a save percentage of .871, which was after the game of 1/19/2019.
First 24 Games In North America
After 29 games, around the three quarters mark, his save percentage was .893. His final save percentage for the 2018-19 season was .898. In judging by quarters of the season, he appeared to improve each quarter, with the second quarter slightly better than first quarter but a more dramatic improvement during third quarter and more improvement during fourth quarter.
| Nr | Date | Shots | GA | Save | W/L | Game Sv% | Ov Sv% |
| 1 | 10/6/2018 | 31 | 3 | 28 | L | 0.903 | 0.903 |
| 2 | 10/12/2018 | 26 | 5 | 21 | L | 0.808 | 0.860 |
| 3 | 10/14/2018 | 28 | 4 | 24 | L | 0.857 | 0.859 |
| 4 | 10/27/2018 | 22 | 3 | 19 | W | 0.864 | 0.860 |
| 5 | 11/2/2018 | 36 | 2 | 34 | W | 0.944 | 0.881 |
| 6 | 11/3/2018 | 34 | 4 | 30 | L | 0.882 | 0.881 |
| 7 | 11/10/2018 | 33 | 2 | 31 | W | 0.939 | 0.890 |
| 8 | 11/11/2018 | 30 | 7 | 23 | L | 0.767 | 0.875 |
| 9 | 11/23/2018 | 29 | 6 | 23 | L | 0.793 | 0.866 |
| 10 | 11/28/2018 | 29 | 3 | 26 | L | 0.897 | 0.869 |
| 11 | 12/1/2018 | 18 | 4 | 14 | L | 0.778 | 0.864 |
| 12 | 12/8/2018 | 31 | 3 | 28 | W | 0.903 | 0.867 |
| 13 | 12/15/2018 | 23 | 5 | 18 | L | 0.783 | 0.862 |
| 14 | 12/22/2018 | 30 | 6 | 24 | L | 0.800 | 0.858 |
| 15 | 12/30/2018 | 23 | 1 | 22 | W | 0.957 | 0.863 |
| 16 | 1/6/2019 | 18 | 3 | 15 | L | 0.833 | 0.862 |
| 17 | 1/11/2019 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 0.833 | 0.861 | |
| 18 | 1/12/2019 | 18 | 18 | W | 1.000 | 0.866 | |
| 19 | 1/16/2019 | 16 | 16 | W | 1.000 | 0.871 | |
| 20 | 1/19/2019 | 25 | 3 | 22 | W | 0.880 | 0.871 |
| 21 | 1/21/2019 | 21 | 1 | 20 | W | 0.952 | 0.874 |
| 22 | 1/23/2019 | 26 | 1 | 25 | OTL | 0.962 | 0.878 |
| 23 | 2/2/2019 | 22 | 1 | 21 | W | 0.955 | 0.881 |
| 24 | 2/6/2019 | 37 | 2 | 35 | W | 0.946 | 0.885 |
| 25 | 2/10/2019 | 30 | 1 | 29 | W | 0.967 | 0.889 |
| 26 | 2/16/2019 | 30 | 2 | 28 | W | 0.933 | 0.891 |
| 27 | 2/23/2019 | 23 | 2 | 21 | W | 0.913 | 0.892 |
| 28 | 2/27/2019 | 29 | 1 | 28 | W | 0.966 | 0.895 |
| 29 | 3/2/2019 | 17 | 3 | 14 | L | 0.824 | 0.893 |
| 30 | 3/9/2019 | 34 | 3 | 30 | OTL | 0.882 | 0.892 |
| 31 | 3/13/2019 | 29 | 3 | 26 | W | 0.897 | 0.893 |
| 32 | 3/16/2019 | 19 | 1 | 18 | W | 0.947 | 0.894 |
| 33 | 3/23/2019 | 37 | 4 | 33 | L | 0.892 | 0.894 |
| 34 | 3/30/2019 | 29 | 1 | 28 | W | 0.966 | 0.896 |
| 35 | 4/4/2019 | 17 | 17 | W | 1.000 | 0.898 | |
| 36 | 4/6/2019 | 31 | 5 | 26 | L | 0.839 | 0.896 |
| 37 | 4/14/2019 | 24 | 1 | 23 | W | 0.958 | 0.898 |
| Totals | 967 | 98 | 868 | 0.898 |
Conclusion
In his initial full KHL season of 2015-16, Samsonov did not get off to a slow start. But during his 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons in the KHL, he performed better in the latter half of the season than he did during the first half. That was certainly the pattern with the Hershey Bears as he improved over the course of each quarter and improved dramatically from the first half to the second half of the season.
Further Reading
Ilya Samsonov: First 24 Games In North America: Adaptation, Education and Sticking To The Script
Back In Business: Ilya Samsonov Records First Victory Since January 14 in 3-2 Win Over the New Jersey Devils
Hershey Bears Regular Season Review: A Tale of Two Seasons
Capitals Goaltending Prospect Ilya Samsonov Shining in the KHL
Caps Grab Goalie in First Round 2015 Draft
Capitals Sign Goaltender Ilya Samsonov to Three Year Entry Level Contract
Elite Prospects Profile of Ilya Samsonov
KHL Player Page: Ilya Samsonov
Statistics were obtained from the KHL website and The AHL website.
By Diane Doyle
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