Craig Berube Breaks Code Signaling Major Maple Leafs Playoff Decision
Craig Berube ended up doing something outside the box with his goaltenders on Saturday which could be a heavy indicator to his decision on who starts Game One.
With the Maple Leafs looking to keep their momentum high against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, there's a lot of pressure on the team to keep the ship steady as they navigate the Atlantic and try to become champions.
A lot of it is going to depend on their goaltending, which has been such a bright spot this season though has seen some rough patches. Will it be Joseph Woll or Anthony Stolarz? Either are a great choice, but it really can come down to one.
Well, Craig Berube may be tipping his hand, and is breaking his usual code of goaltenders and is starting Anthony Stolarz again for the second straight night.
Anthony Stolarz: Game One Starter?
It's a potential sign that Berube will likely hand over the reigns to Stolarz in Game One, however we may also see Joseph Woll get back to back starts in the coming games in order for Berube to gauge how his goaltenders can handle a seven-game series.
Speaking of, the coach gave some reasoning as to why he ended up going to Stolarz for back to back games:
I liked his last game a lot, and I just think I can get him in consecutive games here. Then we have a back-to-back series against Florida teams... I was trying to find a little consistency here moving forward as we go along.
Stolarz will need to be at his best on Saturday as Toronto is going to be without both defenseman Jake McCabe and defensive center David Kampf, who both left the Florida game with injuries.
If the Maple Leafs goalie can keep things going steady and make sure that Columbus doesn't get any second chance opportunities, then it can only bode well for the team going forward, and shows that Stolarz can lead the team to success on a consistent basis.
But if he struggles, it's not like Toronto has a bad option as a backup goalie, as Joseph Woll can handle whatever is thrown at him. It's a good problem for Toronto to have two great goalies; something they haven't had before and a huge factor in a deep playoff push.
It's been a great season for Stolarz, posting a 17-8-3 record with a 2.34 GAA and .920 SV% in his first season with the Leafs; he's been as advertised, and had he not gotten injured, may have been in contention for the Vezina.
We'll see how Anthony Stolarz handles back to back games, and it might give us a better idea of the playoffs if he performs well. But if not? Look to Joseph Woll to take things over once again.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 5 | 462 ANSWERS Craig Berube Breaks Code Signaling Major Maple Leafs Playoff Decision Is Anthony Stolarz going to be Toronto's playoff goaltender? | ||
| Yes | 440 | 95.2 % |
| No | 22 | 4.8 % |
| List of polls | ||