TORONTO — Ilya Samsonov looked up and saw two Winnipeg Jets bearing down on a short-handed 2-on-0 break.
The Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender — demoted to the American Hockey League in December after a string of disastrous outings — wouldn't have been at fault if either Adam Lowry or Morgan Barron found the back of the net.
After a month of dragging himself back into the fight, and potentially resurrecting a floundering career, Samsonov did exactly what he's done since passing through waivers.
He battled.
The Leafs goaltender stopped both Lowry and Barron on that jaw-dropping sequence in the second period as part of a 32-save performance before Auston Matthews scored the winner at 4:13 of overtime Wednesday as Toronto defeated Winnipeg 1-0 on a night the home side was largely second-best.