Maple Leafs’ Anthony Stolarz ruled out against Senators after leaving warmup early

Joseph Woll was spotted switching to his game gloves and will take over in his place despite having played the previous night against the Carolina Hurricanes. There has been no word yet at the time of filing on who will be the emergency backup goalie for the Leafs in Ottawa.

This marks the latest ailment that Stolarz has dealt with, after being out of the lineup for more than two months due to a nerve issue he suffered during a game against the Boston Bruins on November 11. He didn’t skate for well over a month due to suffering a setback in his recovery from said ailment and saw a specialist for consultation before carefully working his way back into practice sessions.

It’s unclear how severe this most recent injury is for Stolarz, but we can expect to see Woll get the bulk of the starts for the time being as Stolarz works his way back. Expect the Leafs to bring up Dennis Hildeby if Stolarz needs to be on the sidelines for a significant period of time.

Woll is coming off a 32-save performance in Friday’s loss, saving 0.47 goals above expected in all situations on a night where Carolina out-attempted Toronto 78-43. Despite this heroic performance that secured the Leafs a point they otherwise didn’t deserve, head coach Craig Berube was critical of his starter’s performance.

“He’s played well,” Berube said of Woll. “Tonight, in the end, I think — I don’t think; I know — that we need a save, whether it is the OT or one of the breakaways. You just need a big save there.”

The Leafs Nation will update this story immediately with further details. 

PRESENTED BY