Maple Leafs Make a Statement with Starting Goalie Decision Against New Jersey

The currently slumping Maple Leafs have lost 3 consecutive games, which has led to fans at Scotiabank Arena booing them off the ice in back-to-back games over the last week.

Fans in Toronto were less than enthused with the team following losses at home to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday and the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, being outscored by a combined 7-1 in the process, barely putting up a fight in either game.

Mitch Marner and William Nylander have come under fire recently for their controversial comments about the fans in Toronto booing them off the ice.

This team needs to get it together, and soon. Unfortunately, an injury to former captain John Tavares at Wednesday's practice may make that more difficult.

Goaltending is more important now than it has been for the Leafs all season long. It appears as though the Leafs have made a statement with their starting goalie selection on Thursday, turning right back to Joseph Woll after the 26-year-old allowed 5 goals against Carolina and 4 goals against Dallas in his last two outings.

By selecting Woll as tonight's starter, the Leafs are showing him the support he needs.

Prior to his two most recent losses, Woll had won 5 straight games and appeared to be building momentum. By turning right back to their number one guy in the absence of Anthony Stolarz, they're hoping that Woll will be able to pick up where he left off following his 5th consecutive win over the Philadelphia Flyers on January 7th, restoring his confidence in himself.

with Stolarz returning to the ice on Thursday for the first time in over a month, perhaps Woll will use that as motivation to rediscover his tremendous form and confidence. After all, the two goaltenders have developed a lot of chemistry with one another, and perhaps having Stolarz around at the practice facility will have a positive impact on Woll both mentally and from a competitive standpoint. We'll find out tonight against New Jersey.