Despite the Toronto Maple Leafs usually rotating their starts in goal, head coach Craig Berube went with the hot hand ahead of their contest against the Anaheim Ducks and rewarded Anthony Stolarz with his second consecutive start.
Unfortunately, the New Jersey native wasn't able to finish the game as he exited the contest after the first period with a lower-body injury. He allowed 1 goal on 8 shots before giving way to Joseph Woll to finish things up.
The good news was that Woll made 19 saves on 20 shots to secure his 8th win of the season but it was a lot closer than it needed to be against an Anaheim Ducks squad that had lost 4 straight coming in and was on the second leg of a back-to-back.
As expected, the Maple Leafs kept quiet about Stolarz's injury after the game and Dennis Hildeby's emergency recall earlier today didn't necessarily bode well for his return to action.
Later in the day, Berube spoke to the media and addressed Stolarz as day-to-day. While it's good news on the surface, we are all painfully aware that day-to-day is very ambiguous and can mean just about anything. Jake McCabe was deemed day-to-day but ended up missing 2 weeks of game action.
Nevertheless, the Maple Leafs trudge forward with a back-to-back set of their own this weekend with games against Detroit and Buffalo on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, before a couple days off until a road matchup in Dallas on Wednesday.
Stolarz will have the benefit of some added rest should he miss out on the upcoming back-to-back. While the Maple Leafs will confidently roll with Woll and Hildeby in his possible absence.
POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 13 | 1415 ANSWERS Toronto Maple Leafs Detail Information on Anthony Stolarz's Timeline for Return Should the Toronto Maple Leafs rule Stolarz out until at least Wednesday? | ||
Yes, give him the rest, we have a good tandem | 1243 | 87.8 % |
No, if he's ready, let him get out there | 111 | 7.8 % |
Play Woll back-to-back | 61 | 4.3 % |
List of polls |