Leafs Reveal Starting Goaltender Against Panthers, Hinting at Playoff No. 1

As the Leafs head into arguably their biggest game of the season on Wednesday as they try to stretch the gap between themselves and the Florida Panthers, there's a lot of debate over who should get the start.

Joseph Woll has struggled but has often been the team's bright spot, but Anthony Stolarz has been great even after returning from injury.

It's a good problem for the team to have and it's something they haven't had...well ever; considering the duo are the first goalie tandem in Leafs history to have 25 and 15 wins respectively.

But the playoffs are a different beast, and while the regular season has 82 games, the playoffs have a maximum of 28, and that's if every game goes to a seventh contest.

So the question remains: Who gets the start? If practice is any indication, it might be last year's Stanley Cup winning backup.

With Stolarz leaving the ice prematurely in practice, it was an indication that he will get the nod against Florida, which could bode huge for his future in the playoffs.

Putting him not only against his old team, but the team's toughest test is a sign that Craig Berube may trust him more than Woll in the postseason.

Although Stolarz has struggled a little bit, over his last five games he's only let in 12 goals, and most recently kept the dangerous Los Angeles Kings at bay, only letting in one goal on 36 shots.

He's posted a 16-8-3 record with a very solid 2.35 GAA and .919 SV% with one shutout; he missed over a month with a knee injury suffered in mid-December.

Woll on the other hand has struggled a bit more, having given up 14 goals over his last five games, but in that span had 9 goals against in two games; so it's a bit skewed and he has been better.

He's posted a 25-13-1 record with a 2.80 GAA and .905 SV% also with one shutout.

But only one man can lead the team in the playoffs, and while Woll has done well historically, the hot hand is currently Stolarz and Toronto needs to ride that as long as possible.

Though if the veteran does end up struggling in the playoffs, the team can turn to Woll instead, which all things considered is a lot better spot than they've been in previously.

So let's just not worry about it and let the best goaltending Toronto's had in decades work their magic.