Anthony Stolarz's injury turns out worse than the Maple Leafs first expected
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Craig Berube has confirmed that the injury to starting netminder Anthony Stolarz is more serious than initially expected.
With Anthony Stolarz being out of the lineup, the Toronto Maple Leafs got some relief in net that Joseph Woll would be returning, having missed the start of the season for personal reasons.
Woll returned last Saturday against the Boston Bruins, but came back after the Leafs had lost Stolarz three days later in another game days earlier against Boston due to injury.
Unfortunately for Toronto, after an extended absence for Woll, a spell on the sidelines may be in line for Stolarz due to injury in yet another setback for the Leafs health.
What Craig Berube actually revealed about Anthony Stolarz's injury
A new update from Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube reveals that the situation with Anthony Stolarz may be more difficult than first thought.
Speaking to reporters, Berube said that Stolarz's injury was worse than previously thought, and that Stolarz's return isn't yet clear.
According to Berube, there's no timetable on when Stolarz would be back, although he has optimism he'd be back with the team soon, and could resume skating as soon as tomorrow at the earliest.
Stolarz, who in September Toronto signed to a four-year extension at $3.75M annually, struggled early in the season as he was relied upon with a heavy workload without Woll as his backup.
In 13 games this season for Toronto, Stolarz has a 6-5-1 record, but has struggled with a 3.51GAA and a .884SV%.
How Stolarz's setback forces the Leafs to rethink their goaltending plan
With Anthony Stolarz having struggled at times in handling a heavy workload, the Leafs may want to reconsider how they move forward without him.
Joseph Woll is projected to make his third consecutive start for the Leafs tonight against Columbus as Dennis Hildeby sticks to the Toronto bench.
Woll has had a strong showing in his first two games with a 1.96GAA and .934SV%, but the Leafs do run the risk of having Woll struggle as Stolarz did earlier in the year with too much responsibility to handle at once, risking potential burnout.
While Stolarz is out, and if he doesn't play on Saturday, Toronto is taking a possible risk if Woll gets a fourth consecutive start when the Leafs take on Montreal.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to get the best out of their goalies, they will want to look back at what worked last season, and that was relying on both goalies equally, and balancing them out to get quality over quantity.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 20 | 1183 ANSWERS Anthony Stolarz's injury turns out worse than the Maple Leafs first expected Should Joseph Woll play 3-4 games in a row if Stolarz is out? | ||
| Yes | 931 | 78.7 % |
| No | 252 | 21.3 % |
| List of polls | ||