The Toronto Maple Leafs have high expectations again this season in the Atlantic Division of the NHL's Eastern Conference. They have proven to be a solid regular-season team that earns its spot among the top three teams in the division, but playoff success has eluded the Leafs for years.
Head coach Craig Berube has a talented roster on his hands, but the Maple Leafs have fallen short in the postseason for multiple reasons and their fans clearly want to see that change sooner rather than later. Leafs supporters take heart because the team has superstars Auston Matthews, John Tavares and William Nylander, but goaltending has often been inconsistent.
The Maple Leafs are getting goaltender Joseph Woll back to the roster after he had to leave the team for personal reasons. So far this season, the Leafs are 3-3-1 and tied for fourth place in the Atlantic Division.
The Leafs have been forced to go with Anthony Stolarz and Cayden Primeau in the net for the first seven games of the season. Stolarz is 2-3-2 with a 3.01 goals against average and an .894 save percentage. Primeau is 1-0-0 with a 4.00 GAA and an .867 save percentage.
Woll should eventually see quite a bit of action for Leafs
Once he returns and Berube feels confident to put Woll in the net, it seems likely that he will get plenty of action during the regular season
Woll is in his fourth year with the Leafs and he was their primary goalie last season. He started 41 times and relieved in one other game. He had a 27-14-1 record along with a 2.73 GAA and a .909 save percentage. His record in the playoffs was 3-4 with a 3.56 GAA and an .886 save percentage.
The Leafs actually won their first-round playoff matchup against the Ottawa Senators in six games before they were drummed out of the playoff by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in seven games.
The Leafs had a 2-0 lead in that series but ended up suffering 6-1 home defeats in Games 5 and 7. Woll started both of those game and gave up five goals in each before he was pulled by Berube. He also started Game 6, a 2-0 Maple Leafs shutout.
