Woll to make season debut vs. Blues
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll will make his first start of the season Thursday against the St. Louis Blues, head coach Craig Berube confirmed.
"He has been progressing in the right direction for some time now," Berube said, per the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan. "We kind of had this date picked out, that he would get this start. It was making sure he is ready, comfortable, everybody is on board with him ready to go."
Woll was projected to be Toronto's opening-night netminder but was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury earlier that day. Anthony Stolarz and Dennis Hildeby - who was loaned back to the AHL with Woll coming off injured reserve - have split the Maple Leafs' first seven games of the campaign.
Stolarz has posted a sparkling .938 save percentage in five appearances. Hildeby shined in his first NHL start but was lit up for six goals in Tuesday's loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Woll dealt with numerous injuries last season. He was shelved for more than a month in the middle of the campaign due to a high ankle sprain, then missed Game 7 of Toronto's opening-round series with a back injury after winning Games 5 and 6.
Despite the missed time, Woll put together a strong campaign with a .907 save percentage across a career-high 23 starts. He posted a .964 clip in his brief postseason showing.
Toronto signed Woll to a three-year extension over the summer worth $3.66 million annually and signed Stolarz in free agency.