
Leading out the Toronto Maple Leafs for a massive divisional matchup against the Detroit Red Wings will be Joseph Woll.
The 27-year-old will get his 21st start of the season on Wednesday night, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube confirmed after Toronto's optional morning skate.
Woll is coming off a game against the Minnesota Wild, where he was yanked after allowing five goals on 29 shots.
"I get last game, tough game, like I get with the travel and everything, our team wasn't at our best. I don't think we gave him the opportunity to be successful in that game," added Berube on why he's going with Woll again.
"He's been our guy, so that's why I'm going with him."
Woll has 11 wins and a .910 save percentage through 20 games this season.
"Good to get back in and turn the tide," Woll said on Tuesday after practice about getting the net again following a tough game. "I mean it's nice that we're playing a lot of games in that sense, so you don't have to linger on things too long. Yeah, it'll be good to get back in."
Matthew Knies is expected to be in the lineup against the Red Wings, despite missing Tuesday's practice as he works through a lingering lower-body injury he's had since before Christmas.
He was a game-time decision on Monday against the Wild, but played after testing the injury during warmups.
"It's one of those that the more you play, the more wear and tear on it's not going to really get better," said Knies after Monday's loss to Minnesota.
"You know the Christmas break obviously helped a lot, and it's a pretty tough schedule we have right now with this month playing every other day, so recovery is pretty important...
"It's been honestly shi**y, but I got to do my best to prepare as well as I can."
The forward has 12 goals and 41 points in 49 games this season, the fourth-most points among Maple Leafs players.
Speaking of injuries, there's still no clarity on Chris Tanev, who's been out since Dec. 28 with a groin injury. The last we heard was that the defenseman would be out long-term, with the potential of surgery.
Tanev still hasn't decided whether he'll have surgery, Berube said on Wednesday morning: "I mean, he's still working through things. He hasn't gotten surgery yet," the head coach added.
"That's him. Like, he wants to play."
The veteran defenseman has played just 11 games this season. He's dealt with a concussion, another upper-body injury, and now this groin injury. In the 11 games he's played, Tanev has two assists and has averaged 17:58 of ice time.
Projected lineup against the Red Wings:
Bobby McMann - Auston Matthews - Max Domi
Matias Maccelli - John Tavares - Matthew Knies
Easton Cowan - Nicolas Roy - Nick Robertson
Steven Lorentz - Scott Laughton - Calle Jarnkrok
Morgan Rielly - Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe - Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Simon Benoit - Troy Stecher
Joseph Woll starts
Dennis Hildeby