The Toronto Maple Leafs’ win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night resembled something straight out of a Seinfeld episode. The Leafs won their third in a row, pounding the Canes 5-1. The Buds entered the night on a roll after blowing out the Penguins 7-2 and then beat the Florida Panthers in a playoff-style game.
On Thursday night, the Leafs faced the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes are one of the NHL’s best teams, and needed a strong performance to prove they’re for real.
That they did. The Maple Leafs got a definitive 5-1 win at the Lenovo Center. Toronto controlled much of the play despite being outshot 32-23. The difference was Joseph Woll.
Everything seemed to be humming along through 40 minutes. Then, disaster hit. News broke that Joseph Woll would not be returning to the game with a lower-body injury. Oh boy… just when things were going great, something bad had to happen.
Just like the characters on Seinfeld, no good can come without its corresponding downfall. Even when things were going great, something wrong had to happen.
That’s been the tale of this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. When things got bad, they got worse. When things finally turned around, something awful had to happen.
Now, we could be jumping to conclusions here. Perhaps the Leafs’ training staff didn’t want to take any chances with Woll. The Leafs were up 4-1 at the time and didn’t want to risk Woll sustaining a serious injury.
If that’s the case, the training staff made the right call. But if Woll is seriously hurt, the Maple Leafs could be facing one of the worst possible situations. While rolling with Dennis Hildeby isn’t necessarily a doomsday scenario, the momentum that the Leafs have built could be derailed.
That’s no bueno for a team that has struggled to string consistent efforts. Now that they have finally gotten there, the Leafs lose the goalie who’s helped them turn things around.