Stolarz suffered an injury in Game 1 after being hit in the head by Sam Bennett. Stolarz left Game 1 early and didn’t even dress in Game 2. Now, as the series heads to Florida for Games 3 and 4, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube revealed Stolarz won’t travel with the team.
“I doubt it,” Berube said on May 8 about Stolarz travelling to Florida. “Not right away.”
If Stolarz isn’t travelling with the team to Florida, it means he won’t start either Games 3 or 4, meaning Joseph Woll will remain the starter. Although he is unlikely to play, before Game 2, Maple Leafs defenseman Brandon Carlo said he saw Stolarz at the rink and he appeared to be in good spirits.
“I think he’s doing well,” Carlo said. “I’ll allow coach to give any updates on that but overall I liked the way he looked this morning when I got to see him for a smile at breakfast. That’s always a good thing.”
Stolarz took the starting job for the Maple Leafs and was playing stellar before his injury. Before getting hurt, he was 4-2 with a 2.19 GAA and a .901 SV%.
Maple Leafs Coach Praises Woll
With Stolarz out with an injury, Woll has stepped up as the starter.
Woll and Stolarz split the starts during the season, so Berube had confidence in him. But, after Game 2, where Toronto won 4-3, Berube praised Woll for his play
Very calm and cool in the net, I thought — and made saves,” Berube said after the win on May 7. “Pucks are coming to the net all the time playing Florida. So he was on his toes, and fighting through traffic, and making the saves that are needed. You know, very impressed with him tonight.”
In the playoffs, Woll is 2-0 with a 4.01 GAA and a .875 SV%. Although the numbers aren’t great, the Maple Leafs have praised Woll for how he has played in relief of Stolarz as he’s helped Toronto take a 2-0 series lead.
With Stolarz likely ruled out for Games 3 and 4, Woll knows he is the Maple Leafs’ starting goaltender for the foreseeable future.
Although Woll hasn’t been dominant, he has made key saves. But the goaltender is crediting the players in front of him for blocking shots and clearing the lanes so he can make the easy saves.
Not a whole lot,” Woll said. “I was just trying to stay in the moment and stick to the process. Focus what I needed to focus on. The team was great in front of me. It’s been special to see, really, all season. But as the regular season was coming to a close, and then here in playoffs, the guys have just been putting their bodies on the line.”
Toronto has taken a commanding 2-0 series lead and will look to take a stranglehold of the series in Game 3. But the Maple Leafs are expecting a much better Panthers team in Game 3, especially with Florida back at home.
