With Anthony Stolarz sidelined, head coach Craig Berube admits that the risk of overworking Joseph Woll is "in the back of my mind" as the goaltender prepares for his fourth consecutive start.
MONTREAL — When Joseph Woll departed the Toronto Maple Leafs in September for personal reasons, Anthony Stolarz was called on to shoulder the load. While he handled the responsibility well at the start, the wear and tear on the goaltender eventually began to show its effects. This became evident when Stolarz was pulled on Nov. 11 with an upper-body injury.
The good news for the Leafs is that Woll was already trending toward a return. Now, as Woll prepares for his fourth consecutive start, the Leafs must ensure they don’t make the mistake of overusing him, especially since Stolarz has not been on the ice since sustaining his injury.
Is Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube worried about Woll’s workload?
“We're not there yet. But it's obviously in the back of my mind for sure,” Berube said before his team prepared to visit the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. “After tonight, we've got a little break, right, until Columbus, so that's good.”
‘Obviously Worse Than We Thought’: Maple Leafs Update The Status Of Anthony Stolarz
Berube provided an update on Anthony Stolarz's injury. The goaltender has yet to step on the ice since sustaining an upper-body injury in Boston.
Woll has admitted he likes to practice as hard as he plays, and the Leafs have been working with him to tone down the preparation away from the games themselves.
“We talked about that last year with Joe. In practices, just do your thing, then tone it down a bit because it can go overboard,” Berube explained. “In practice, he's a hard-working guy and he likes to compete in there, but it takes a lot of work. So managing that part too—that's our job as the coaches and the goalie coach—to manage that part of it in practice.”
Woll has posted a 1-1-1 record with a .923 save percentage in three games this season. Dennis Hildeby, Toronto’s third option in goal, has performed decently enough in spot duty with a .904 save percentage. However, the Leafs have yet to secure a win with Hildeby in net.
Given the Leafs' struggles as of late, they likely feel compelled to ride Woll for a little while. The team will return home after their game in Montreal and then head on the road for 10 days and five games; Hildeby is sure to get at least one of those starts. But he might need more just to make sure Woll doesn’t run out of gas.
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