RALEIGH, N.C. — Joseph Woll looked across the Lenovo Center ice and saw the difference unfolding between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.
“It was a pretty evenly matched game,” the Leafs goalie said. “At the end of the day, their goalie outplayed me a bit, and I think that’s the difference in the game.”
Woll allowed five goals against on 33 shots in the Leafs’ 6-3 loss. The Hurricanes added an empty net goal. Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov also faced 33 shots but allowed just three goals, including one on the power play.
Even with his honest admission, the Leafs’ loss should not be pinned solely on Woll’s shoulders. Repeated lapses and breakdowns in the Leafs’ zone allowed an active Hurricanes team to pounce. Woll kept the game close through the second period with stretching saves.
But Woll also showed lapses, whether it was allowing two goals in 17 seconds in the first period or when Hurricanes rookie Jackson Blake beat him five-hole for a goal. Though, in fairness to Woll, the defenders in front of him could have done a better job of not allowing Blake to get so close to the goal untouched.
“(Woll) probably wants (some of the goals against) back, but he has played some real good hockey for us. He made some real good saves tonight, too. I am sure he wants a couple of the goals back, but he has been battling for us and playing well,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said.
The loss against the Hurricanes should not serve as an indictment of Woll. That the Leafs are seventh in the NHL based on points percentage (.651) is in no small part because of their goaltending. Woll is coming off five straight wins and has looked resolute throughout. He deserves the opportunities that have come his way and owns a respectable .912 save percentage this season.
Yet, could the loss lead to a shift in the Leafs’ goaltending picture?
Thursday’s game was Woll’s 21st appearance this season. That’s only four off his career high of 25 games played, which he hit last season.
🫢🫢🫢 pic.twitter.com/elqpwmKFjr
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 10, 2025
The five goals Woll allowed Thursday should be a reminder that the Leafs need to find ways to ease his workload or risk burning him out ahead of when they need him most: in the playoffs. Woll deserves the starts he’s getting with Anthony Stolarz out with injury, but leaning heavily on a goalie not used to this kind of workload isn’t without risk.
Woll has started five of the Leafs’ past six games. That’s five starts in 10 days. Woll has never started five regular-season games in 10 days throughout his NHL career. Throughout, Woll has remained busy. He has faced more than 30 shots against in each of those starts.
Even though the Leafs do not have any back-to-backs remaining through January, it’s starting to feel like Berube should mix in a few of his other goalies in the name of keeping Woll rested and fresh.
The Leafs planned on having a tandem of goalies run their net this season. They didn’t sign Stolarz to be a backup. The Leafs added him as a veteran netminder who with more opportunity could prove what he’s capable of. And his .927 save percentage before going down with an injury spoke to those capabilities.
But they likely still never wanted one goalie to take the reins for the entirety of the season. The organization has undoubtedly seen the way the league is trending: Unless you have a Connor Hellebuyck-type goalie in your organization, the unpredictability of the position means teams often try to mitigate that by having two goalies share the workload.
The Leafs don’t appear to have that luxury. From the outside, they don’t seem to have a ton of faith in Dennis Hildeby. Through four games, Hildeby has a 3-1 record but an .892 save percentage. Matt Murray remains with the Toronto Marlies after allowing seven goals over his two Leafs starts in late December. Since returning to the AHL after those two NHL starts, Murray is winless in three games and has an .881 save percentage.
And though an NHL call-up was almost certainly never going to happen for AHL rookie Artur Akhtyamov this season, it’s worth noting that he left the Marlies game Jan. 8 with what the Marlies are calling a lower-body injury. He remains day to day.
Berube likes to move fringe skaters back into the lineup to avoid them staying in the press box and losing momentum in their games. That’s why Berube brought Pontus Holmberg, who had not played since Dec. 28, back into the lineup against the Hurricanes. Now might be the time to start applying that same logic to Berube’s goaltenders.
Stolarz remains around the team and looked in good spirits during the Leafs’ two-game trip, but he has yet to take the ice with the team after an injury. Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said Dec. 17 that the goalie had a “procedure” on his knee and would remain out for four to six weeks.
That brings us back to Hildeby. The 23-year-old had his best performance as a Leaf on Jan. 5 against the Philadelphia Flyers, stopping 30 of 32 shots in a win. Even if he has plenty to work on before becoming a regular NHL backup, Hildeby has enough tools and should be feeling confident enough to handle more starts through January.
It’s worth considering bringing up Murray for another look once he strings together a few wins in the AHL as well.
Again, if it keeps Woll in the best place physically come spring, that’s what should matter. He has proved he can play some of his best hockey in the playoffs. Some of those games also came after lengthy periods of rest.
Woll has remained healthy since suffering a groin injury just before the season. That came after two serious injuries in 2023-24 and multiple injuries in his time with the Marlies.
When asked about a heavier workload than he’s had in his NHL career, Woll sounds up to the task of what could be ahead.
“I’m enjoying getting to play a lot,” he said concisely.
The Leafs’ schedule doesn’t get any easier after the loss to the Hurricanes. Five of their next six games are against opponents in a playoff spot as of Thursday night.
And so how much Woll continues playing could determine at least in part how the Leafs get through this difficult stretch and whether they can maintain their lead atop the Atlantic Division.
(Photo of Joseph Woll making a glove save Thursday: James Guillory / Imagn Images)
