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Having spent the early part of the 2024-25 season sidelined with what the team is calling ‘groin tightness’, goaltender Joseph Woll is inching closer to a return.
Woll tweaked his groin near the end of preseason and has been practicing in a limited capacity as of late, but today he skated with the team in a full practice, according to TSN’s Mark Masters.
Joseph Woll (lower body tightness) is practising with the Leafs for the first time since the regular season began @TSN_Edge ing pic.twitter.com/dWLPvZZ5f5
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) October 18, 2024
Woll’s injury was a bit of a shock after he seemingly had a healthy preseason following a summer where there was said to be an emphasis on revamping his training regimen to improve his durability. That said, the human body works in a multitude of ways and it can be cruel at times. While he was a full participant at practice, head coach Craig Berube says that he can’t pin a date on his return to game action.
Craig Berube on Joseph Woll timeline:
"Sooner than later I would think, but you gotta take it day by day still"
Coach liked how Woll looked at practice
"Seems like he's really heading in the right direction"
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) October 18, 2024
Woll echoed the “day-by-day” sentiment verbatim.
“Little bit of groin tightness and feeling better now. I’m just focused on coming back and helping this team,” Woll said. “Just really trying to take it day by day and stack good days on top of each other.”
Considering how excellent Anthony Stolarz has played in his three games thus far and how rookie Dennis Hildeby fared in his first start, there’s certainly less of a sense of urgency to get Woll back into games as soon as possible, and that’s a good thing for all parties. Stolarz has stopped 79 of 84 shots through three games so far, and has a .940 save percentage (SV%) with a 1.70 GAA (goals-against average) in those games. Hildeby, meanwhile, stopped 23 of 25 shots for the first NHL win of his young career in a revenge game against former head coach Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils.
The Maple Leafs are coming off of a 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings at home and will host the New York Rangers on Saturday night. It’s expected that Stolarz will get the start for that game, but with a back-to-back coming up on Monday and Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets, it’s entirely possible Hildeby gets another game between the pipes if Woll isn’t 100 percent.
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