After the Toronto Maple Leafs struggled in net to begin the season, Joseph Woll has looked steady in his first four outings. And he needs to be, with their season already in the balance.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been dealing with a series of crises over the first six weeks of the regular season.
They’ve had injuries to key players throughout their lineup, a surprising level of inconsistency for a veteran club and a defense that is 31st in goals against per game (3.73) after finishing in the top 10 last season.
The Leafs were relatively healthy through the opening month, but veteran goalie Anthony Stolarz, fresh off signing a four-year contract extension, withered under a heavy workload while Joseph Woll took a leave of absence. The 31-year-old, whose .926 save percentage last season was the best among goalies who played at least 15 games, was 6-5-1, with a 3.51 goals-against average and .884 save percentage, before being injured against Boston on Nov. 11.
Woll returned to the club in late October. After a simulated training camp and brief stint in the AHL, the 27-year-old returned to the Leafs' lineup on Nov. 15 in Chicago and has given solid-to-excellent performances and kept Toronto in games without captain Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, Nicolas Roy, and defensemen Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo in the lineup.
After losing 3-2 to the Hawks on a late Colton Dach goal, Woll made 27 saves in a 3-2 overtime win over St. Louis and made big stops in the third period to salvage a point in a 3-2 OT loss to Columbus.
“In a job like this, it’s hard to take results purely as wins and losses, especially as an individual, things go both ways. There’s just so much you can control, I think it’s all about playing the right way.” Woll said last week. “The past few games, from what I’ve seen, we’re playing our way, just not going our way the last few.”
The improved team performance once again eluded Toronto at the Bell Centre on Saturday, as Woll kept the Leafs in the game until the middle of the second period when Montreal took a 4-0 lead. Based on the need for a spark and being cognizant of his heavy workload in his first week back, Berube pulled him in favor of backup Dennis Hildeby.
“(Woll) was excellent, I pulled him (because) we were just giving freebies to them, I just said I had enough.” Berube said after their 5-2 loss. “We’re down a goalie already.”
Toronto faces a critical juncture in its season over the next two weeks, playing five straight on the road against Eastern Conference foes. Except for back-to-back games against Washington and Pittsburgh, Woll is likely to be in goal for four of those games with the Leafs' season in the balance.
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