No timeline for Stolarz, Murray will back up Woll in Game 2
Published
With Anthony Stolarz absent from the Toronto Maple Leafs morning skate Wednesday, Joseph Woll will make his first start of the postseason in Game 2 against the Florida Panthers, with Matt Murray dressing as his backup.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said Stolarz is without a timeline for return after being taken to a hospital on a stretcher during Game 1.
“He’s fine, he’s recovering,” Berube added of the team's star netminder.
Woll worked in the starter's net Wednesday morning and will start Game 2 after replacing the injured Stolarz in Game 1. He stopped 17 of the 20 shots in relief, helping the Maple Leafs secure a 5-4 win.
Murray, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, will be elevated to the backup role after taking the away net during Wednesday's skate. Dennis Hildeby dressed as the emergency third goaltender on Monday, joining the Maple Leafs on the bench for the third period.
Hildeby was also on the ice for the morning session, but only rotated in for work.
"Experience, I think, more than anything," Berube said of turning to Murray, a two-time Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"He's been there, done it."
The 30-year-old Murray appeared in two games during the regular season with the Maple Leafs, going 1-1-0 with a .879 save percentage and 3.54 GAA. Hildeby played in six games, going 3-3-0 with a .878 save percentage and a 3.33 GAA. Both netminders spent the majority of the season with the AHL's Toronto Marlies.
Murray went 10-5-4 with the Marlies this season, owning a .934 save percentage and a 1.72 GAA. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.
Hildeby, 23, had a 16-9-4 record in the AHL this season with a .908 save percentage and a 2.55 GAA.
Woll appeared in more games (42) than Stolarz (34) during the regular season, finishing with a 27-14-1 record with a .909 save percentage and a 2.73 GAA. He was leaned on heavily when Stolarz suffered a knee injury in December, going 12-7-0 with a .904 save percentage in the window before Stolarz returned.
"We've got a lot of confidence in him," team captain Auston Matthews said Wednesday said of Woll. "He's extremely focused, does all the right things."
Maple Leafs not focused on revenge on Bennett
The Maple Leafs maintained on Tuesday that the team would not seek retribution on Sam Bennett for appearing to cause Stolarz's injury.
The team took that same tone on gameday, with Scott Laughton stating the team's focus is on taking a 2-0 lead.
"Win. That's how you get'em," Laughton said when asked how the team should respond.
Leafs lines remain the same
While there will be a change in goal, Berube is set to once again stick with the same lineup in Game 2.
David Kampf and Nick Robertson once again skated as scratches. This marks the sixth straight game Berube has used the same skaters, having replaced Robertson with Max Pacioretty for Game 3 of the team's first-round series with the Ottawa Senators.
Ekblad, Samoskevich to draw in for Panthers
The Florida Panthers will get defenceman Aaron Ekblad back from suspension for Game 2 against the Maple Leafs.
The 29-year-old blueliner was suspended for two games for a hit on Brandon Hagel during the first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has one goal in two playoff games after returning from a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs that ended his regular season. He had three goals and 33 points in 56 games before that suspension.
Uvi Balinskis dressed on the Panthers third pairing and scored a goal in Game 1, but is set to serve as a scratch in Game 2.
It appears the Panthers will also make one change to their forward lines after losing Game 1, replacing A.J. Greer with Mackie Samoskevich on the fourth line.
Samoskevich has one assist in three playoff games this spring, while Greer is without a point in three games.
The 22-year-old Samoskevich had 15 goals and 31 points in 72 games during the regular season. Greer, 28, had six goals and 17 points in 81 games while picking up 130 penalty minutes.