Maple Leafs Confirm Exciting News for Goaltender Anthony Stolarz on Tuesday
The Maple Leafs are looking to snap a 2-game losing skid tonight when the take on the New Jersey Devils, and they appear to have selected their starting goalie against former Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils have already met once this year, with the Leafs pulling off a 4-2 win way back on October 10th.
At the time, leading up to the game, it was projected that New Jersey native Anthony Stolarz would get the nod against his home State team. However, that was not the case, as rookie netminder Dennis Hildeby got the nod the last time around, winning the first game of his young NHL career.
This time, however, Stolarz will be between the pipes when the Leafs take to the ice at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, as confirmed by Leafs head coach Craig Berube following Tuesday's morning skate. As a result, Joseph Woll will be the backup goaltender for the Leafs tonight.
This will mark the first time Stolarz has started against his home State team since signing his 2-year deal in Toronto this past summer. Certainly some exciting news for the veteran netminder.
Stolarz has been on a bit of a slide of late, losing 3 of his last 5 starts -- though it bears mentioning that he was not the reason why the Leafs had lost in two of those outings, having posted. 920 save percentages or better on December 6th against Washington and November 12th against Ottawa.
This season, Stolarz has been largely very dominant in goal for the Leafs, racking up a record of 8-5-2, with a 2.22 GAA and a .924 SV% across 15 starts.
Stolarz had previously established that he plans to give Joseph Woll a run for his money this season, challenging the 26-year-old for starts, and he has made good on that promise thus far -- though Woll has certainly been up to the task when called upon as well.
If Stolarz wants to continue to cut into Woll's workload in Toronto, a win tonight against the Devils would be a great way to start.
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10 DECEMBRE | 2062 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Confirm Exciting News for Goaltender Anthony Stolarz on Tuesday Is Anthony Stolarz the right choice to start against the Devils? | ||
