Ilya Samsonov made his season debut for HC Sochi on Sunday after signing a two-year contract with the KHL team the day before.

The former Washington Capitals goaltender was sensational in HC Sochi’s 5-2 win over Spartak Moscow, surrendering only one goal and stopping 30 of 31 shots — good for a .968 save percentage.

The only blemish in Samsonov’s first game in six months and 18 days appears to be due to his conditioning. He did not feel well and asked out during the second intermission as HC Sochi led 3-1.

“It’s hard not to go out on the ice in that atmosphere,” Samsonov said per sports.ru and a translation by Google Translate. “I gave it everything I had. I played my best for two periods. During the [second intermission], I realized that if this continued, I might end up in an ambulance and go straight to the hospital. I spoke with the doctor. He said that if I didn’t stop, things could end badly.”

Samsonov yielded the net to Alexei Shchetilin, who stopped 18 of 19 Spartak shots in the third period to give Sochi just their fifth win in 19 games.

“I think I’ll recover quickly, and everything will be fine,” Samsonov said. “These things happen. The main thing is that I have two points. The music is playing in the locker room, the mood is great. Everything is as it should be.

“I knew the team’s situation wasn’t the best. We need to get back into playoff contention, and I really wanted to help the team. Especially since the guys gave me a very warm welcome. Everyone’s motivated and wants to win.”

Samsonov’s last NHL game came on April 15 when he backstopped the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-4 shootout loss against the Calgary Flames, stopping 24 of the 28 shots he faced. Like Evgeny Kuznetsov, Samsonov could not secure a new contract in the league this past summer. Once he learned of Sochi’s interest, he asked the team that still held his KHL rights, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, to trade him. He has a clause in his contract that would allow him to return to the NHL next year if there’s any interest in July.

“I consulted with my family and realized there was no point in sitting around doing nothing any longer,” Samsonov told Match TV. “And that’s it: we reached an agreement with Magnitka, we reached an agreement with Sochi. And my [trade] was completed. I just want to play hockey now and enjoy it. I’m tired of just training.”

Samsonov, rated by many analysts to be one of the better goaltenders available on the market during the offseason, thought he would sign with an NHL club and continue his career in North America.

“That’s how it was supposed to be,” Samsonov said. “But honestly, I don’t know how it happened or why it happened that way. I don’t think my agents missed the market or made any mistakes. It just sort of happened that way, and that’s all there is to it. It’s a challenge for me. That’s why I chose Sochi. We had a good conversation with the management. And at a family meeting, we decided that the most important thing now is to get back to our level, and quickly.

“The fact that there will be a lot of shots on my goal is a good thing. And now Sochi has 50 games left in the regular season. I want to help the team turn this situation around. Believe me, I wasn’t looking for the easy way out.”

Samsonov said he trained in Miami both on the ice and in the gym while he waited for his next move over the summer. He eventually returned to Russia in the fall, where he skated with Sergei Mozyakin, Evgeny Timkin, and Vasily Koshechkin in Magnitogorsk.

“They provided me with all the conditions on the ice,” Samsonov said per sports.ru. “These people took charge of me and didn’t abandon me.”

In Samsonov’s second game of the year on Tuesday — a rematch against Spartak — he stopped 32 of 33 shots in HC Sochi’s 1-0 overtime loss.

Two games into the year, Samsonov has a .969 save percentage and a 1.18 goals against average. He’s stopped 62 of 64 shots he’s faced, earning KHL “Man of the Week” honors.

“Yes, it’s nice,” Samsonov said. “If we keep this up, we’ll be a tough opponent for any team.”