The Washington Capitals are turning to Ilya Samsonov to start in goal for Saturday’s Game 3 against the Florida Panthers, according to coach Peter Laviolette.
Samsonov replaced Vitek Vanecek for the third period of Game 2 on Thursday and stopped all 17 shots he faced. Vanecek had allowed five goals on 19 shots in the first two periods of the 5-1 loss, which tied the series 1-1.
Laviolette also said that winger Tom Wilson, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 1, would remain out for Game 3.
Samsonov and Vanecek split the goaltending duties during the regular season, each starting 39 games. Vanecek had the edge in goals-against average (2.67 to 3.02) and save percentage (.908 to .896), while Samsonov posted the better regular-season record (23-12-5 to 20-12-6).
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.