How concerning is the state of the Leafs goaltending?
What’s that old saying about throwing stones? Ever since Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz called out his teammates for a lack of grit following an overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken on October 18th, the Leafs have allowed a total of 36 goals in the eight games Stolarz has started. In the Edison, New Jersey native’s marginal defense, he didn’t allow all those goals himself. Last Saturday against the Boston Bruins, he was pulled after giving up four goals on 19 shots. On Tuesday, again against the Bruins, he was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots, this time due to injury.
The Leafs goaltending situation seems to be headed for dire straits. Their starter, who was already struggling, is now apparently hurt, and they’re lacking any other proven NHL options on their roster. Joseph Woll, who performed well in a platoon with Stolarz last season, is currently with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on a conditioning stint after returning from a leave of absence. Woll’s pending recall appears to have just gotten much more urgent, as the Leafs, who rank dead last in the NHL in goals allowed per game, desperaretely need someone to provide a solution in net.
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed just how concerned the Leafs’ should be about their goaltending.
Tyler Yaremchuk: They have the third worst five-on-five save percentage in the NHL. Stolarz could be hurt now. Zero to ten, what’s the concern for the Leafs’ goaltending?
Carter Hutton: I think right now it’s an eight. I’m putting it up there just because of the Joseph Woll factor, too. He played 36 minutes the other night in the American League and he gave up three, he had 21 saves on 24 shots. Again, I haven’t watched the game so I don’t want to pass judgement, because it could’ve been 24 breakaways. I feel like sometimes watching a boxscore is tricky from the American League standpoint. That being said, they’ve been without Joseph Woll. A stat that I picked up last night for the Bruins game was they were fifth in inner-slot save percentage last year, and second in slot save percentage this time of year. This year, on inner-slot shots, they’re 31st in save percentage, and in slot shots they’re 25th. So it is a goaltending factor that is a big difference. Having both guys playing off each other. Anthony Stolarz always had Joseph Woll, and Joseph Woll always had Anthony Stolarz. So during this run, it’s been the keys to the castle for Anthony Stolarz, and he hasn’t been able to sustain it. That being said, this is a team that doesn’t defend hard. They haven’t been playing that Craig Berube style of defense. And you’re seeing it first hand, they’re soft to play against, it’s questionable at times. So my concern is high for this hockey team right now.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…