The Toronto Maple Leafs gave a big update regarding the health status of Joseph Woll after he was absent from practice on Monday.
Although the Maple Leafs couldn’t close out the series on Saturday against the Senators, they are still in a very good spot heading back home for Game 5 on Tuesday, with a chance to close things out in front of a raucous and passionate crowd.
There were some concerns about Anthony Stolarz’s performance given that he only made 17 saves but gave up four goals, and if Toronto is going to see any success, they need him to get back to where he used to be.
If he can’t go however, or starts to struggle again, the Maple Leafs will need to call upon Joseph Woll to weather the storm.
At least, they were supposed to.
The team won’t have Woll at practice, and hopefully it’s a case of the sniffles and nothing that could keep him out for the rest of the series and beyond.
Issue being is without Woll, the team needs to call upon rookie Artur Akhtyamov in case Stolarz were to struggle or heaven forbid, go down with an injury. While he shined in the AHL, this is something he’s never experienced before, and it’s rough to throw him straight into the fire without any NHL games to his name.
Akhtyamov registered an 11-8-4 record with a 2.81 GAA and .901 SV% with the Marlies in his first pro season in North America. It was a solid debut season, but with Toronto needing something more consistent in the playoffs; it’s a tough call for him come in.
Woll was pretty solid too this season although lost the starter job to Stolarz given his outstanding play. He posted a 27-14-1 record with a 2.73 GAA and .909 SV%, very good numbers and part of Toronto’s only goalie tandem with 20+ wins each.
All we can hope for though is that Woll gets better quick, because if Toronto runs into any trouble, it might be disastrous for everyone, not just their young goaltender.