Leafs facing tough decisions when it comes to playoff starting goalie
When the Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice for playoff games next month, it’ll be largely familiar territory for much of the team’s core.
As things currently stand, the Leafs are slated to face off against the Boston Bruins or Florida Panthers to kick off the postseason, two teams they have recent playoff history with. In Boston’s case, Toronto has seen them in the 2013, 2018, and 2019 postseasons, while the Panthers knocked the Leafs out in the second round just last spring.
But while the Leafs have had a clear starting goalie during many years of their seven straight postseason appearances, the answer isn’t exactly as clear this go around.
Toronto has used three different goalies this season for at least 20 games, with Martin Jones, Ilya Samsonov, and Joseph Woll all getting their fair share of playing time in the NHL this season.
Due to a combination of injuries and a stretch in January where Samsonov was away from the team in order to refocus a clearly lost confidence, the Leafs have employed a goalie-by-committee approach this season.
And with under a month out until the playoffs begin, there’s still no clear answers as to who Toronto’s No. 1 will be for the opening round of the playoffs.
Here’s a quick look showing the tale of two halves of the season so far for Toronto’s three goalies:
| Record Oct-Dec |
SV% Oct-Dec |
Record Jan-Mar |
SV% Jan-Mar |
|
| Martin Jones | 4-3-0 | .915 | 7-4-1 | .903 |
| Ilya Samsonov | 5-2-6 | .862 | 14-4-1 | .908 |
| Joseph Woll | 8-5-1 | .916 | 2-4-0 | .884 |
You’ve got Jones with relative consistency throughout the season, as well as 60 career games played in the postseason with LA, San Jose, and Seattle. There’s Woll, who started off the year hot but hasn’t been able to string wins together since returning from injury, and Samsonov, who has looked like two completely different goalies in each half of the season.
The Leafs return to action on Thursday night when they host the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena. It’s the first time the two teams have met since Capitals forward Tom Wilson high-sticked Noah Gregor on March 20, with Wilson currently serving a six-game suspension for the infraction.
Woll, who has put up a 2-4-0 record and just a .884 save percentage since returning from a two-month injury absence in February, returns to the net two days after giving up five goals to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. Samsonov will be backing him up.
“It is a good chance for him to get back in there. He had a really strong game in Carolina and then it was not as strong [against the Devils],” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said yesterday of Woll’s play of late. “The group in front of him made life much harder on him. It is a good chance to get back in there after what happened [on Tuesday]. Also, Samsonov taking a little pause gives Joe a chance to get his workload up.”
In any case, Keefe and Toronto’s front office will have to make a tough call soon on who exactly their postseason starter will be, with no real clear No.1 emerging at this point in the season.
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