Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll left Thursday’s 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes with a lower-body injury. Woll exited before the third period after stopping 22 of 23 shots through two periods, and 24-year-old Dennis Hildeby stepped in to make nine saves in relief.
Head coach Craig Berube provided no details on the 27-year-old’s condition after the game.
When inquired about Woll's condition, Berube said:
“We'll see tomorrow.”
“Right now, I can't give you that answer,” he said when asked how serious the injury is. “I really don't know. Hopefully it's not serious, but I really liked the way Beast came in and handled it.”
After missing the first month of the season for personal reasons, Woll returned on Nov. 15 and has been impressive, recording a .927 save percentage, 2.44 goals-against average, and 216 saves across 443 minutes in eight starts. His record stands at 4-3-1 with no shutouts so far this season.
The injury is particularly troubling, as fellow netminder Anthony Stolarz has been out since suffering an upper-body injury on Nov. 11 and has not yet returned to skating.
Hildeby, who has a .919 save percentage in seven NHL appearances this season, will now likely assume the primary role in the short term. The 6-foot-7 Swede, who is 1-2-1 this year, has made more relief appearances (four) than starts (three) and will start Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens, who currently hold a two-point advantage on Toronto for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Should Woll’s absence extend or Hildeby underperforms, the Leafs’ next options are Artur Akhtyamov or Vyacheslav Peksa. However, neither has NHL experience.
Toronto was cooking on offense in Thursday’s contest, with Bobby McMann scoring twice, and goals from Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews, and Scott Laughton. The Leafs ended the Hurricanes’ two-game winning streak and finished a 4-1-0 road trip, boosting their overall record to 13-11-3.
