Maple Leafs confirm goaltending change

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be putting their four game winning streak to the test tonight at Scotiabank Arena when they welcome in the San Jose Sharks. And there will be a new face between the pipes for the host Leafs, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe.

It will be goaltender Ilya Samsonov making his return to action for the first time since suffering a lower body injury on November 5 while attempting to stop Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand on a penalty shot attempt.

According to head coach Sheldon Keefe following yesterday's skate, Samsonov was making strides towards a return thanks to his having gotten plenty of work during practices.

" He seems like he is feeling good. He has gotten a lot of work in, whether on the road or in here today.

"Today was a big step for him. It is not an overly extensive practice today, but he was still able to get some work in a team setting with a little bit of five-on-five in front of him. That is part of his progression."

"In terms of where he goes from here, we will just call him day-to-day at this point. For any player’s recovery, you kind of want to see how he is the day after he pushes it. We will get a better sense tomorrow, maybe, of what the next step looks like."

The Leafs and Sharks will get underway from downtown Toronto starting at 7:00 PM EST.