Craig Berube Announces Surprise Starting Goaltender vs. the Anaheim Ducks
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a bit of a surprise in their reported projected goaltender for tonight.
It appears tonight's starter for Toronto against the Anaheim Ducks is Anthony Stolarz, who appears in back-to-back games with the team, a break in the team's rotating of Stolarz and Joseph Woll.
Anthony Stolarz played Toronto's last game against the New Jersey Devils this past Tuesday, leading the Leafs to a 2-1 win in overtime thanks to a 39 save effort.
It was expected given the Leafs choice to spread games out between netminders that it would be Joseph Woll going ahead tonight, but head coach Craig Berube appears to be giving the nod to Stolarz yet again after a strong performance against Berube's predecessor behind the Leafs bench, Sheldon Keefe.
Keefe called Stolarz's performance the "best goaltending in the league on the other side of the ice", giving high props to the first year Leafs netminder.
Stolarz this season has a 2.13GAA and a league leading .928sv% in 16 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 9-5-2 record.
Joseph Woll has also been a strong netminder this season, having a 2.21GAA and a .919sv% in 10 games played with a 7-3-0 record. Woll's strong performance having been overshadowed by a breakout campaign and possible Vezina candidate output by Stolarz in net.
Goaltending has been a sore spot for the Devils in the post-Brodeur era,
Jacob Markstrom, who was acquired by New Jersey from the Calgary Flames in June, has looked to be a productive netminder this year for the Devils with a 2.48GAA and a .906sv%. The Devils struggled in net last season, a major factor in missing the playoffs after high expectations for the team prior to the start of 2023-24.
The Devils trio of Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws, & Akira Schmid all failed to get a sv% above .900, with Jake Allen having the highest pct% at .900 in 13 games with the team.
The Toronto Maple Leafs sit second in the NHL Atlantic Divsion with a 17-9-2 record, two points shy of the Florida Panthers for first place, but with an extra game in hand on Florida.
Projected in net tonight for the Anaheim Ducks is Lukas Dostal. The 24-year-old is having a strong season with a 2.67GAA and a .921sv% along with a 6-7-3 record on the year.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 12 | 1095 ANSWERS Craig Berube Announces Surprise Starting Goaltender vs. the Anaheim Ducks Who should have been the starter for the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight? | ||
| Anthony Stolarz | 573 | 52.3 % |
| Joseph Woll | 522 | 47.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
