Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz makes a glove save during warmup before a game against the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, on Dec. 12.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
The revolving door between the Toronto Maple Leafs locker room and the team’s medical ward has been working overtime this season.
While the injury bug that has afflicted much of the forward ranks this season – putting seven on the shelf at one point – seems to have eased, now it’s the turn of the netminders to feel its unsparing effect.
Anthony Stolarz, who almost single-handedly stole two points for the Leafs on Tuesday in New Jersey, was unable to last longer than 20 minutes during Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, pulling himself from the game with a lower-body injury.
And while Joseph Woll stepped up to the plate, making 19 saves in relief to earn the win, the team heads into back-to-back games this weekend – in Detroit on Saturday before a home matchup Sunday with Buffalo – with something of a crease quandary.
Woll, who has never started more than 23 games in his short NHL career, is already up to 10, and it’s barely two months into the season. The alternative would be rookie Dennis Hildeby, who was recalled Friday from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis, and has just two NHL starts on his résumé.
Although head coach Craig Berube expects Stolarz back next week – he’s officially “day to day” with a lower-body injury – with the Leafs jostling with the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at the Atlantic Division summit, this weekend’s games could prove to be important.
Given Hildeby’s welcome-to-the-NHL moment, when he surrendered just two goals in New Jersey in posting a debut win in October, Berube has faith in the 23-year-old.
“He came in and played that great game in Jersey for us, so we have confidence in him,” he said. “He’s got a lot of ability, he’s obviously a big man. So if we’ve got to use him, I have confidence in him, for sure.”
However, his last outing in a Leafs sweater didn’t go so well, with the Swede giving up six goals in a loss in Columbus on Oct. 24. Since then he’s played six games in the AHL, winning just twice with an .897 save percentage.
Nevertheless, the 2022 fourth-round pick says he is ready, although given the circumstances – he received a message late Thursday night telling him to be ready – he had no idea as of Friday lunchtime whether he would see action this weekend.
“I have no clue,” he said. “I got a text to be here and I’m here. I’ve learned not to expect anything really, just take advantage of the opportunity.”
If osmosis counts for anything in the NHL, the rookie couldn’t be in a better spot. The Leafs’ largest lockers – the goalies always get the extra-wide stalls – have been quietly nurturing what is statistically the best netminding tandem in the league. Heading into the weekend’s games, Stolarz has an NHL-best .927 save percentage, while Woll is following closely in fourth, at .921. And the duo are second and third with 2.15 and 2.16 goals-against averages, respectively.
For a goaltender who said Friday he has some things to work on, perhaps spending a few days with the Leafs and goaltending coach Curtis Sanford might be a chance to recalibrate.
“A lot about my rhythm and my timing and a couple of my reads, like screen management for example,” was how Hildeby described his weaknesses. “I feel like my depth, how far out [I am]. Just a lot of small things I’m feeling like I’m not doing exactly how I want to. But I’m not necessarily worried, it’s still early [in my career].”
Whoever starts in net these two games, it will be hoped that the Leafs can ramp up their offence. Toronto is generating just 2.93 goals a game, which places it 22nd in the 32-team NHL, but well behind last year’s 3.63, which positioned it second.
After stumbling through the past week, with just five goals in three games, the Leafs hit an unexpected gusher on Thursday when left winger Max Pacioretty chipped in with two goals and an assist in the win over the Ducks.
With Berube clearly aiming for size and grit at the left-wing spot on each line, the expected return of Bobby McMann from a lower-body injury could pay similar dividends somewhere in the bottom six.
As a player who had worked his way up to the top line during the Leafs’ injury crunch, with six goals through 21 games, the winger hopes to step back in where he left off.
“I’ve definitely been skating a good amount,” said McMann, who last played on Nov. 24 against Florida. “I didn’t miss a lot of time off the ice. The game speed is always something that takes a bit of an adjustment. But not being out that long, I don’t think it’ll be too hard.”