Leafs' Joseph Woll gets Game 2 start against Florida Panthers with Anthony Stolarz ruled out
With Anthony Stolarz ruled out, Toronto turns to backup goalie in playoff series against Florida Panthers.
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The show will go on, sans Anthony Stolarz, with the Maple Leafs hoping Joseph Woll can stand tall.
After starting in net for their first seven playoff games, Stolarz was not on the ice Wednesday morning for the skate prior to Game 2 against the Florida Panthers.
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Leafs' Joseph Woll gets Game 2 start against Florida Panthers with Anthony Stolarz ruled out Back to video
Coach Craig Berube confirmed Woll is playing and that two-time Stanley Cup winner Matt Murray will be the backup ahead of rookie Dennis Hildeby.
Always purposely vague about injuries, Berube would only state Stolarz was “recovering” from what most think is a concussion. On Tuesday, Berube hadn’t rule out Stolarz coming back from two head trauma incidents in Game 1 to play Wednesday.
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Stolarz took a straight-on shot hard enough to dislodge his mask and then came the controversial elbow to the back by Panthers forward Sam Bennett.
Berube kept deflecting questions on Stolarz’s availability later in the series and on the chance he returns at all this round, said “anything is possible.”
Woll finished the game for Stolarz on Monday, making 17 of 20 saves as a 4-1 lead became a tight 5-4 final in Toronto’s favour. But he played 42 games this season with plenty of playoff experience the past two springs, including a mid-series call. He faced many of these same Panthers in 2023, also in the second round.
“We have a lot of confidence in him, he’s extremely focused,” Toronto captain Auston Matthews said. “It’s not easy just getting thrown into the fire like that (mid-game), but he’ll be prepared and ready to go.”
Alternate captain John Tavares echoed the team’s trust in Woll’s preparation.
“We have all the faith in him, he’s always played tremendous hockey here,” Tavares said.
Forward Scott Laughton was one of the Leafs to have seen the play involving Bennett, which was not called a penalty or reviewed by the league as Toronto had hoped.
“Stolie was trying to see the puck, wasn’t looking and I’ll leave it at that,” Laughton said.
But he added the Leafs should put any thoughts of retaliation on the back burner and channel energy towards using home-ice advantage to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
“Win. That’s how you get them. Play them the same way — physical. Play their top guys hard. At the end of the day, it’s about winning and punishing them that way,” Laughton said.
Asked how Stolarz was holding up, Matthews said: “He seems to be feeling better. He’s been around the rink and stuff. It’s good to see him. We really aren’t trying to pester him with questions, just be there to support him. Hopefully, he’s back here soon.”
The Panthers are adding Aaron Ekblad on defence after his two-game suspension from an elbow on Brandon Hagel in their previous series against Tampa Bay was served. Maurice is also adding young Mackie Samoskevich to the fourth line for A.J. Greer.
Maurice had been upset on Tuesday that too much was being made of the the unpenalized Bennett hit in the Toronto market, but went back to having some fun with the media Wednesday morning.
He pretended not to know Bennett’s name and when reminded Leaf fans will be hard on the forward at puck drop quipped “are they bringing their skates? He’ll play an honest, hard game like he always does. I appreciate the concern.”
X; @sunhornby
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