Goaltender Ilya Samsonov missed the Washington Capitals’ practice on Sunday with a lower-body injury after playing Saturday’s entire 3-1 preseason loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, where he made 28 saves.
The 24-year-old will be re-evaluated on Monday before the Capitals face the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center (7 PM ET, not televised).
Ilya Samsonov is not skating at Capitals’ practice today. He has a lower-body injury, per the team. He will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
Samsonov played the full game last night against Philadelphia.
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) October 3, 2021
Samsonov, who finished last season with a 13-4-1 record, a .902 save percentage, a 2.69 goals-against average, and two shutouts, also made six saves on eight shots-against in one period of the Capitals’ 5-4 loss to the Devils on Wednesday.
Laviolette on Samsonov: “At this point in camp when guys have been on the ice for awhile, and something happens, you proceed with caution … he was able to finish the game. It is not something that happened after the game when he got in there, something just popped up for him.”
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) October 3, 2021
He signed a one-year contract worth $2 million over the offseason.
The Capitals open the regular-season against the New York Rangers on Wednesday, October 13.
By Harrison Brown