Joseph Woll Looked Great Despite Loss to Hurricanes
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a scare on Saturday night when goaltender Ilya Samsonov appeared to have suffered an injury in the Leafs 6-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
During his post-game session with the media, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters that Samsonov would be fine. That is good news for the Leafs, with the NHL playoffs beginning a month from now.
The Toronto Maple Leafs used Joseph Woll in net the next night for a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Although the Leafs lost the game 2-1, Woll looked great in the net. He showed the Leafs that he is ready to play should Samsonov need to miss any time. Woll replaced Samsonov during the Leafs second-round series against the Florida Panthers in last season's playoffs. He appears ready to do it again should he be needed.
Joseph Woll Looked Great Despite Loss to Hurricanes
Woll stopped 41 of 43 shots on Sunday and finished the game with a .953 SV%. He has a 10-8-1 record on the season with a 2.86 GAA and .912 SV% in 20 games.
This is Woll's first full season in the NHL, and despite his average-looking record, he's played really well. Woll may be the Leafs goaltender of the future, but it's entirely possible that the future is now. (All stats from hockey-reference.com).
The Leafs have the benefit of having three goaltenders on their roster who can all play at the NHL level, but the Leafs goaltending is ranked 22nd in all-situations save-percentage. That is unacceptable and that is why the starting goaltending job on the Leafs is still up for grabs this late in the season.
When healthy, Samsonov is supposed to be the number one goaltender, but he's had a shaky season and was on waivers earlier in the year. He is the Leafs #1 goalie at the moment, but before his injury Joseph Woll had clearly stolen the job. It remains to be seen who will start the opening game of the playoffs.
I'm unsure if Woll could handle being a full-time number-one next season. With Matt Murray, Samsonov, and Jones all being unrestricted free agents this summer, I wouldn't be surprised if Leafs make a play for a most established goalie this summer
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What happens in this year's playoffs will likely dictate what the Leafs do in the off-season. The only thing we know for sure right now is that the Leafs need someone to step up and claim the #1 job.