Woll gets comfy as backup
Leafs are gaining faith in rookie goalie, and Campbell could use a break
It will be a bit with fingers crossed when Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll gets his second NHL start against the New York Islanders on Sunday.
It’s not so much how Woll and the Leafs will do in the second game ever at the Islanders’ new digs: UBS Arena at Belmont Park, a $1.5-billion (U.S.) complex in Elmont, N.Y.
It’s more whether he can stay healthy.
Not to make light of it, but the Leafs depth chart is getting pretty thin. Marlies goalie Erik Källgren is out with a concussion, joining Leafs backup Petr Mrázek (groin) and Marlies prospect Ian Scott (groin). That leaves Woll as Jack Campbell’s backup, with Michael Hutchinson holding down the fort with the Marlies and ECHL goalie Keith Petruzzelli called up to the AHL team.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe put a positive spin on it all.
“When we called up Joe we were making a decision between Hutchinson, who’s got lots of NHL experience, Källgren, who has played extremely well for them and won a championship last year (in Sweden), and Joe,” said Keefe. “So we had that depth to be able to withstand something like that. I think that the depth remains strong.”
On Saturday, prior to the morning skate, Mrázek practised for the first time since going on the injured list Nov. 7 (retroactive to Nov. 4). He was expected to be out a month.
Mrázek was out there with Scott, who suffered his injury in training camp, and has been routinely working with goalie coach Steve Briere.
“It was Petr’s first day back on the ice, so he’s making progress, but it’s going to take some time before he’s back and ready,” said Keefe. “Scott has been skating for quite some time now. I think his return to the Marlies is imminent.”
Until Mrázek returns or Woll struggles, the backup job belongs to the rookie. He won his debut a week ago, 5-4 over Buffalo, in which he gave up two third-period goals to surrender a 4-2 lead before Morgan Rielly saved the day with 12 seconds to go.
“You never want to judge too much either way off of one game, but obviously that experience, we think, would help him going forward,” Keefe said of Woll. “The one thing that we did, we went back and we looked at his game specifically. The goals that went in are one thing; there was a couple there that we really hung him out to dry.
“But look at some of the saves that he made in that game and he looked really confident, in the right spots. He looked big in the net, not giving up a lot. So that helped our confidence in him, and ... it’s important for us to get Jack some time off. So we’ll give Joe another go at it.”
Woll said he’s learned a lot in a short time with the Leafs and expects a steadier performance against the Islanders compared to his effort against Buffalo.
“It’s felt different this week. I feel more part of the team, a little more comfortable. Just excited to play some hockey again,” said Woll. “The biggest thing is being able to settle into the game and understand it’s just a hockey game.”
The Marlies went with Hutchinson in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win over Lehigh Valley. He stopped 24 of 26 shots. Backing up was Petruzzelli, a 22-year-old college free agent signed to a two-year AHL contract.
While the growth of young goalies is important for the Leafs in the long term, the focus is really on Campbell. The medical staff, goalie department and coaches are in constant communication with the netminder, who has shouldered more of the load than expected.
“Jack’s been really good with it. He’s managed it really well,” said Keefe. “If he feels he needs or wants some practice reps, he speaks up and communicates that. “We try to design practices in a way that he doesn’t have to take on certain reps ... “We’ve had to do it even more so with not having Petr being available. I think it’s served us well in terms of knowing what we can do.”