A relief appearance and two strong outings from recent AHL starters highlight THN's Thursday night goalie report
It was a big night for recent AHL goaltenders across the NHL on Thursday.
The last thing Leafs fans thought they'd see in the third period of a hot contest between Toronto and Ottawa was recent Marlies starter, Martin Jones.
Through 50 minutes solidified Leafs starter Joseph Woll was white-hot for the Buds, stopping 29 of 31 shots of the surging Senators. A seemingly unassuming backhander saved at the 10:22 mark of the third period led to the 25-year-old leaving the game with an apparent lower-body injury.
Jones entered the contest cold for his debut with the Leafs, conceding a goal to Claude Giroux before shutting the door on a late Sens comeback.
Overall Jones made nine of ten saves in the contest coming off of five games with the Marlies in which the 33-year-old veteran put up a so-so stat-line of 3.27 GAA and .870 SP with two wins.
With Woll likely to miss time and Ilya Samsonov battling illness, Jones will likely be the interim starter for the Leafs in the short term.
THN's David Alter reported the following from Leafs' bench boss Sheldon Keefe on the status of Woll:
"It's unfortunate. He's playing so well and he's built such great momentum," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of his goaltender. "It's a setback. He's going to miss time here for sure, we'll determine the extent of it when we get home."
Meanwhile, at the TD Garden, Devon Levi made his triumphant return to the NHL following a debut stint in the American League with the Rochester Americans.
Levi was razor sharp against the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins, stopping 29 of 30 shots as the Sabres eeked past the B's 3-1.
The win moved the 21-year-old to four wins on the season with a 3.22 GAA and .866 SP. In two starts in the AHL Levi went 1-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .921 SP.
Fellow presumptive future starter Dustin Wolf picked up his first win of the season for the Calgary Flames.
Wolf, 22, allowed two first-period goals from Stefan Noesen and Michael Bunting in the Thursday meeting with the Carolina Hurricanes, shutting the door for the remainder of the contests the Flames put up three straight third-period markets for a 3-2 win.
Overall Wolf made 28 saves in his third NHL game of the season, moving his stat line to 3.03 GAA and .901 SP. The seventh-round draft pick in 2019 earned 10 wins in 13 games with the AHL's Wranglers, putting together a solid campaign with a 2.50 GAA and .920 SP.