The Toronto Maple Leafs have 14 games left in the regular season, and Game 1 of the playoffs is less than one month away. Toronto’s goaltending has been a bright spot all season long. Throughout the year, there have been plenty of discussions about who the Leafs should roll with for the first game of the playoffs. Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz could be the starting goalie on a lot of teams in the NHL and Toronto are lucky to have both.
The Maple Leafs tandem have been stellar for the majority of this season. Woll’s numbers this season include a 2.70 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 35 starts. As for Stolarz, he’s made 10 fewer starts than Woll for Toronto after missing about two months with a knee injury. Nonetheless, he’s been having a great season, too with a 2.39 GAA and a .918 save percentage. They’re both outperforming the average numbers for goalies in the NHL this season.
Who Starts In Game 1?
As mentioned, ever since Woll and Stolarz cemented themselves as solid netminders this season there’s been the question. Who will be Toronto’s starting goaltender in Game 1 of the playoffs? Well, recency bias would suggest that Woll would get the net in Game 1 of the playoffs. While Stolarz has the better overall numbers on the season — in fewer games — Woll is in a great swing of form.
Stolarz hasn’t been able to secure a win in the month of March. Furthermore, in his last three starts, he’s posted save percentages under .900%. Those three games were crucial for the Maple Leafs, taking on the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, and Ottawa Senators. Those losses don’t solely fall on the shoulders of Stolarz, but either way, they’re losses.
Meanwhile, Woll has been holding down the fort for Toronto. Furthermore, the Leafs have three wins in their last six games and they’ve all come at the hands of Woll. The 26-year-old is on a three-game winning streak with two incredible performances on home ice. On Wednesday, Woll stopped 38 out of 39 shots against Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche in Toronto’s 2-1 victory. It was the first time since February that Woll had played consecutive games and handled well. Before the Colorado game, Woll and the Leafs handled business against the Calgary Flames with a 6-2 win.
Head coach Craig Berube and the Maple Leafs will hope that they can continue to count on Woll. It’s worth noting that before this season, Woll hasn’t played made more than 23 starts. He also has a small history of injuries that hurt the team in last year’s playoffs and the start of the season.
Opportunity For Stolarz To Flip The Script
With Stolarz dropping his last three games, he has a chance to get back in the win column on Thursday night. The Maple Leafs take on the New York Rangers in a back-to-back. The Rangers are sure to come out hungry after losing to the Flames on Wednesday and pushing them back in the ever-so-tight wild-card race in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, this is an important contest for Toronto, too. Ahead of their clash with the Rangers, they are tied in points with the Panthers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
Stolarz’s last win came against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, and he’ll be back at the same venue on Thursday. In his last game there, Toronto came out with a 3-2 win. Stolarz finished with a .938 save percentage and was awarded third star of the game. This next game will be a good opportunity for him to secure his 14th win of the season and drag his name back in the “Game 1 starter” conversation.
Main Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
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