Maple Leafs Shake Things Up in Net, Make Unexpected Starting Goalie Announcement
The Toronto Maple Leafs have decided to shake things up in net after a brutal 6-3 loss to the Hurricanes, turning to Dennis Hildeby over Joseph Woll against the Canucks.
Joseph Woll has received the lion's share of the workload in the absence of Anthony Stolarz, who remains sidelined following a procedure on his knee, going under the knife in December.
While Woll has largely been very good, the increased workload may finally be getting to him, as the 26-year-old netminder allowed 5 goals in a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, including 2 or more he'd like to have back.
Following the loss, Woll was the focal point for his shaky play, but Leafs head coach Craig Berube was quick to have his starting goalie's back, reminding the media of how well Woll has been playing in recent weeks. Woll himself also revealed that the increase in responsibility is not an issue for him.
Woll is not immune to the odd off-night, where he simply isn't at the top of his game. All goaltenders go through it, which may be why the Leafs are turning to rookie Dennis Hildeby tonight against a struggling Vancouver Canucks team who are riding a 4-game losing skid and a 2-4-4 record across their last 10 games.
With Hildeby slated to start against Vancouver, it should provide Woll with a good opportunity to get some extra rest in and do some additional work with the Leafs' goaltending staff between games.
The Leafs aren't taking any chances when it comes to Woll right now. They don't want to overwork him and overwhelm him, increasing the risk of injury with Stolarz already on the shelf.
Hildeby's last start resulted in a 3-2 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers on January 5th. The young netminder put up 30 saves and a .938 SV% in the win.
