TORONTO — The Maple Leafs will turn to Joseph Woll in Game 2 against the Panthers on Wednesday night.
Woll takes over for the injured Anthony Stolarz, who left Game 1 following a hit to the head area from Panthers forward Sam Bennett. Stolarz won’t dress in Game 2 and wasn’t on the ice with the team on Wednesday morning.
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Matt Murray will serve as Woll’s backup.
On Wednesday morning, Leafs coach Craig Berube declined to offer a timeline for Stolarz’s return.
“He’s fine. He’s recovering,” he said.
It will be the fifth career playoff start for Woll and the first since Game 6 of last year’s first round when he stopped 22 of 23 shots in a win over the Bruins.
The 26-year-old faces a tall task in Game 2 as he tries to hold off a Panthers team that will be hungry to even the series, backstopped by Sergei Bobrovsky, who will be trying to rebound from a rough Game 1.
Woll surrendered three goals on 20 shots in relief on Monday night.
Game 1 featured arguably the best first period of hockey the Leafs played all season. They hung on for the win despite the Panthers scoring three goals in the third period. With their Game 1 win, the Leafs won the opening games of the first two rounds of the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
Game 2 will likely see an improved, or at least different, version of the Panthers. The reigning Stanley Cup champions will get top-pair defenceman Aaron Ekblad back in their lineup after Ekblad served a two-game suspension for his hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel in the first round. The Leafs should be prepared for a more spirited performance from the Panthers in Game 2.
“It was the perfect storm of, ‘That’s not the way you want to start,’ when everyone has lots of energy and jump. There is a tension to it at the start,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “That was our first period. We didn’t look like ourselves.”
With full lineups on both sides, Game 2 could offer a more accurate barometer on how this series will play out.
The likely lines
Knies — Matthews — Marner
Pacioretty — Tavares — Nylander
McMann — Domi — Holmberg
Lorentz — Laughton — Järnkrok
McCabe — Tanev
Rielly — Carlo
Benoit — Ekman-Larsson
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Woll
Murray
No changes for the Leafs lineup other than Woll coming in. The line that’s really come on of late is that second unit, with Max Pacioretty alongside John Tavares and William Nylander. The trio have produced four goals — to none against — since Berube put them together in Game 6 of the first round.
A curious subplot for the Leafs in Game 2 comes lower in the lineup, namely a Scott Laughton-led line that will again be tasked with countering Florida’s superb third unit. The group was hit for two third-period goals by the Panthers’ No. 3 crew in Game 1. The Leafs don’t have a great alternative if that line can’t keep things square. — Siegel
The big questions
How will Joseph Woll look in his first playoff start this year?
Woll came into Game 1 with no warmup and stopped his first flurry of shots from in tight. But he then allowed three third-period goals, two of which he probably should have stopped. Those goals allowed the Panthers back into the game and forced a Leafs team to tighten up in front of Woll.
His track record as a strong shot stopper in the playoffs and his .909 regular-season save percentage (over 42 games) suggests Woll could rebound in Game 2. As much as Woll can say he goes into a game preparing to play, seeing your goaltending parter vomit on the bench before jumping into a pressure-filled situation with little notice is a different beast. Can Woll put to work the new physical and mental training he’s utilized all season when it matters? He can draw on his own experience of shutting down the Panthers for stretches in 2023. He wants to prove he’s a long-term No. 1 goalie in this league, too. Game 2 is going to present a remarkable opportunity to do just that. — Kloke
Can the Leafs own the five-on-five space?
The Leafs pumped in five five-on-five goals in Game 1. It was only the third time all season — regular season or playoffs — that the Panthers have given up five-plus goals in a game at five on five. Florida ranks among the league’s very best in the five-on-five space. Whether the Leafs can own that space again in Game 2 may depend on if their top two lines can again win their matchups. The top six produced all five of those goals in the series opener. — Siegel
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Will the Leafs seek retribution?
Under Berube, the Leafs have adopted the head coach’s sound, unfazed demeanour. They consistently talk about how they never saw hits on their players that walked the line. They’re encouraged not to engage after the whistles. Everything coming out of their mouths in the wake of Bennett’s unpenalized elbow to their goalie was level-headed and forward-thinking.
That’s all well and good, but will that line hold with emotions running high in front of 19,000+ fans likely booing Bennett? Will any Leaf let the moment get to them and seek retribution? Spending time in the penalty box is something the Leafs will have to avoid. The Panthers had a decent 23.5 percent regular season power play, after all.
How much will Bennett’s actions linger in the minds of the Leafs during the game, potentially distracting them from the task at hand? Game 1 was a reminder that it’s anyone’s guess what the referees in this series will or won’t call. Fans will want fireworks. Berube will want a low-event game. — Kloke
Pre-game reading
• Sam Bennett’s hit on Anthony Stolarz dominated talk between games. Both sides tried to turn down the volume.
• Should Bennett have been suspended? James Mirtle thought so.
• A bit lost in the controversy? How the Leafs won Game 1.
How to watch
The puck drops in Toronto at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sportsnet, CBC, TVAS and ESPN.
(Photo: Mark Blinch / NHLI via Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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