Matthews scores in OT, Maple Leafs shut out Jets

TORONTO -- Auston Matthews scored with 47 seconds remaining in overtime, and Ilya Samsonov made 32 saves for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 1-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

Matthews won it when he redirected a cross-crease pass from Morgan Rielly.

"Please score," Samsonov said when asked what was going through his mind during overtime. "I have long time I did not win in overtime (April 10, 2023, 2-1 against the Florida Panthers). I’m not afraid, but you know, like still shaky a little bit. When I see Auston with the puck, you know we won."

Samsonov, who was making consecutive starts for the first time since Dec. 9 and 11, made 16 saves in a 3-1 win against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday. The Maple Leafs (24-14-8) have won two in a row and three of four.

"Perfect," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said of Samsonov. "He was excellent from start to finish. He was good early in the game when they were shooting the puck from everywhere on the sides, and he was obviously great on the few high-end chances that they had, he was terrific. Just another building block for him where he just looks as confident as ever."

Laurent Brossoit made 29 saves for the Jets (30-11-5), who have lost two in a row. 

"We broke the puck out a lot quicker and we were on top of them," Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. "We had lots of good chances. Give their goalie a ton of credit today. He made a lot of big saves. He made a lot of timely saves. But I really liked our first period. That was one of our best first periods of the year."

Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey left the game late in the first period with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot from Matthew Knies. Bowness said he will be re-evaluated before any further update is provided.

Winnipeg outshot Toronto 16-4 in the first.

"You can't come in against good teams as a visitor and play on your heels," Jets defenseman Nate Schmidt said. "I liked the way our guys came out, attacked the game early and I don't think we really let off the gas. We did a great job. Our goaltender played fantastic. He was phenomenal tonight. Their goalie played well too. Crazy that a long game comes down to one shot."

Samsonov kept it 0-0 at 3:26 of the second period when he stopped Adam Lowry on a short-handed 2-on-0 rush, then turned aside Morgan Barron on the rebound with an outstretched right pad.

"Not typical moment for NHL, but it’s more just like a game moment and make some save, yeah,” Samsonov said. “What do you do? Just play, in every situation, that’s it."

At the next stop in play, Samsonov received a standing ovation from the crowd.

"How I say it? I almost cried," Samsonov said. "Long time [since] fans this loud. This is important for me. Long time I didn’t listen to this. This is huge. Thank you again to all the fans."

Even Brossoit was impressed when he saw Samsonov come up with those saves.

"You got to tip your cap," Brossoit said. "He played really well. I knew we were in trouble after he made the 2-on-0 save. The crowd got into it. You could tell he was starting to feel it. Got to be happy for him after what he went through."

The Jets had a chance to break the tie at 8:29 of the third period, but Samsonov stopped Rasmus Kupari, who kept the puck on a 2-on-1 and shot from the right circle.

"[Samsonov] was unbelievable," Matthews said. "I thought he was the best player on the ice for us by far, so I can’t say enough good things about him. Just the way he played tonight was incredible."

Samsonov was placed on waivers Dec. 31 after allowing 21 goals in four starts. He cleared the following day and spent the next 10 working with Toronto’s American Hockey League goaltending coach, Hannu Toivonen, before rejoining the Maple Leafs. He is 2-1-0 and has allowed four goals in three starts since returning.

"I’ve always just loved his attitude and the way he goes about his business," Matthews said. "Obviously, it wasn’t going very well for him there for a little bit, but that’s just when he worked harder and harder and really just dialed it in and did the extra work. Mentally, he’s as solid as any goalie I’ve been around and for him to rebound like he has been playing, it’s unbelievable for our team but unbelievable for his confidence."

NOTES: Matthews’ goal was his 39th this season, most in the NHL. It was also the 11th OT goal of his career, passing teammate William Nylander for second in Toronto history (Mats Sundin, 14). … Maple Leafs center John Tavares was held without a point for the ninth game in a row. … Toronto extended its streak of consecutive games without being shutout to 209, the seventh-longest in NHL history.