The Toronto Maple Leafs are putting their faith in Sergei Bobrovsky, and it's a decision that could cost them whatever little momentum they have built up this year.
As the Maple Leafs head back home to take on the Utah Mammoth, they are coming off a strong finish to their Western road trip, with a big win over the Canucks to put them back on the right track after two straight losses to Calgary and Seattle.
They are slowly getting their injured players back, and they are expiermineting with a new lineup that may have some benefits but could come back to haunt them if it fails - but at this point, it's still fairly early enough to try a couple new things.
Speaking of trying new things, the Maple Leafs are pretty good at that this year except when it comes to their crease. They've put their eggs in the Sergei Bobrovsky basket and they've yet to hatch, meanwhile Anthony Stolarz has locked things down in his backup role.
Bobrovsky earns a start, but he hasn't really earned the starter role
But with the team needing to win, it might behoove them to start Stolarz over Bobrovsky - which is why their decision on Tuesday could be considered playing with fire.
The team is scheduled to have Bobrovsky start against the Mammoth on Tuesday as they try to get him back on track and in the win column. Stolarz took the first game against Utah and it was his worst game of the season, so perhaps that factored in a bit.
Though you're also putting Bobrovsky up against the best power-play team in the league while also being a team who takes a ton of penalties. If they want a better Bobrovsky, they need to stay out of the box.
Bobrovksy has time to figure it out - but not as much as you'd think
He's given up 16 goals over his last five games including four against the Rangers that he was thankfully bailed out on last minute, and five against Seattle including a heartbreaking squeaker he should have had - only seconds after Toronto stormed back from down two goals.
I know counting stats are often overplayed, but Stolarz has a 5-1-0 record with a 2.66 GAA and .910 SV% while Bobrovsky has a 3-5-2 record with a 3.29 GAA and .885 SV% - there's a flat out difference in performance.
Stolarz isn't being bailed out by goals, he's standing firm and even when faced with adversity is coming out stronger. Heck, he's been run over a few times already this year and hasn't really shown any issues.
There's a need to get your $21M goaltender back in business, and knowing the resume Bobrovsky has, there is little doubt he can pull something together as the season progresses.
It's just a case of whether Toronto can keep competitive long enough for him to figure it out.
Do you think Sergei Bobrovsky should be the Maple Leafs' starter going forward?
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