The next matches of the regular season took place in the National Hockey League.

This time, Russian goalkeepers came to the fore, and in particular, Toronto goalkeeper Ilya Samsonov, who became the main character of the meeting with Winnipeg.

The domestic athlete recorded his first shutout since December 10 last year, making 32 saves, and helped his team win in overtime - 1:0.

The Jets were in second place in the Western Conference standings, and they were considered the favorites to face the Maple Leafs, who had not been playing very well lately: only two wins in six games.

In the first period, confirming their status, Winnipeg was more active in front and made 16 shots on Samsonov’s goal versus Toronto’s four.

However, Ilya performed superbly and kept zeros on the scoreboard.

And in the second twenty minutes, the Russian made, perhaps, the most striking rescue of the year.

The Jets players rolled out together at the goalkeeper, but he kept his cool and amazingly coped with the threat.

First he saved a shot from Adam Lowry and then a shot from Morgan Barron. 

“Not a typical NHL situation, but it was more of a game-time thing... so, yeah, made a few saves.

What else can you do?

Just play, in any situation, that’s all,” the official NHL website quotes Samsonov as saying. 

The fans thought completely differently.

In the next pause after this episode, they gave Ilya a standing ovation.

And according to the hockey player, tears welled up in his eyes from emotions.

“How can I say... I almost burst into tears.

It's been a long time since fans reacted so loudly.

It is very important for me.

I haven't heard anything like this for a long time.

It's amazing.

Thanks again to everyone,” said the goalkeeper.

Samsonov was just as great in the third period.

Auston Matthews put the finishing touches on the match in the 65th minute, for whom the goal was his 39th of the season.

At the same time, as Samsonov admitted, during extra time he mentally begged his teammates to excel as soon as possible, since the last time he won in overtime was on April 10, 2023 in the confrontation with Florida (2:1).

“I thought I’d at least give it up.

There is no fear, but, you know, it still seems to be shaking a little.

When I saw Auston with the puck, I realized that we had won,” Samsonov noted.

After the match, Toronto head coach Shelton Keefe was effusive in his praise.

The team coach called Ilya's game perfect.

“He played a great match from start to finish.

Was good early on when the puck was being thrown from different angles, and certainly played well in those rare moments that required an extremely high level of skill, Samsonov's play was amazing.

Another building block in his career, after which he looks more confident than ever,” the specialist said.

Winnipeg goalkeeper Laurent Brossoit also paid tribute to the Russian, who was recognized as the first star of the match.

According to his counterpart, he realized that the team was in trouble after Samsonov’s stunning save in the second period.

At this moment, according to the Canadian, Ilya caught his courage.

What is happening is especially surprising given the latest events in the life of a domestic athlete.

After all, just a couple of weeks ago, many put an end to his NHL career.

After four defeats in a row to the Islanders (3:4), Buffalo (3:9) and twice to Columbus (5:6, 5:6), Ilya was put up for the waiver draft.

However, none of the clubs wanted to take the goalkeeper, so he was sent to a farm club.

Fortunately, Samsonov did not give up, did a great job in the AHL and returned to the base in mid-January.

And now we can definitely say that he did it triumphantly.

During his NHL career, Samsonov played a clean sheet for the 12th time, putting him in ninth place in league history for this indicator among Russian goalkeepers.

He surpassed the result of Igor Shesterkin and Anton Khudobin (11 each).

The first place is held by Evgeniy Nabokov (59).

Sergei Bobrovsky also supported his colleague on Wednesday.

The Florida goalkeeper made 31 saves and helped his team defeat Arizona with a score of 6:2.

The Russian missed two goals at the end of the match, when the Coyotes could no longer correct the situation, so he was deservedly recognized as the third star of the match.

The confrontation between the regular season leader Vancouver and St. Louis turned out to be very stubborn.

Pavel Buchnevich and Alexey Toropchenko scored goals for the Blues.

However, the main hero of the meeting was their teammate Braydon Schenn, who brought victory to the team in overtime - 4:3 and thus interrupted the Canucks' winning streak.

Alas, Alexander Ovechkin’s Washington continues to play poorly.

The team suffered a third defeat in a row, this time from Colorado.

At the same time, Nikita Kucherov’s main competitor in the scorer race, Nathan MacKinnon, scored the poker in the match.

The Capitals managed to dampen the score and deprive the “cracker” Alexander Georgiev in the 48th minute: Dylan Strome converted the power play, and Ovechkin chalked up an assist.

This allowed Alexander to record his 684th assist and rise to 65th place in NHL history.

However, this goal did not help change the course of the meeting.

Colorado won confidently - 6:2.

And Washington made it even more difficult for itself to reach the playoffs.