Woll starting, Leafs plan to go with three-goalie rotation going forward
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ crease just got a little more crowded.
Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters on Thursday that goaltender Joseph Woll is “preparing to play” in tonight’s game against the Arizona Coyotes.
“He looks good, feels good. We’ll give him every minute that we can,” Keefe told reporters. “The plan is for him to play and be activated tonight.”
The 25-year-old has been away for the better part of the past three months with an ankle injury and was recalled this week after a successful conditioning stint with the Marlies.
His return leaves Toronto with three goalies at the NHL level, with Martin Jones and Ilya Samsonov taking up the other two spots.
Keefe clarified that while there are three goalies on the roster, Jones will likely be taking on a third-string role.
“When you have three guys, you don’t really have three guys. You gotta focus on two,” the coach explained. “Jones’ job here is to stay ready. And we’ll continue to work him in when we can but we don’t wanna be too disruptive to Samsonov or Woll.”
Interestingly, all three Leafs netminders have spent time in the AHL this season.
Jones has an 11-7-1 record in 20 games with a goals against average of 2.71 and a save percentage of .907, making his Leafs debut following Woll’s injury.
Meanwhile, Samsonov has a 14-5-6 record in 27 games with a goals against average of 3.25 and a save percentage of .881, but the veteran has seen plenty of highs and lows throughout the year. Since coming back from a two-week hiatus from the team in late December, Samsonov has put up a 9-3-0 record, seeing a major improvement in his save percentage.
Before getting hurt in early December, Woll, who had assumed the No. 1 role, had started in 14 games and posted a record of 8-5-1, a 2.80 GAA, and a .916 SV%.