Woll back at practice and expected back in Leafs crease 'sooner than later'
Published
The Maple Leafs practised on Friday at the Ford Performance Centre.
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Joseph Woll practised with the Leafs for the first time since being a surprise scratch on opening night.
"A little bit of groin tightness and I'm feeling better now," the 26-year-old goalie said.
Woll is inching closer to a return to game action.
"Sooner than later, I would think," said coach Craig Berube. "But, you know, you gotta kind of take it day-by-day still."
The Leafs are entering a busy stretch with six games in 10 days starting Saturday when they host the New York Rangers.
"I'm just really trying to take it day-by-day and stack good days on top of each other," Woll said when asked about his timeline.
Woll's injury seemed to come out of nowhere. He practised on Oct. 8 and expressed excitement about getting the chance to start the season opener the next day in Montreal.
"It wasn't good enough to go so just been focused on getting back," he said.
The St. Louis native didn't say specifically when or how the injury was sustained.
"You know, truthfully, I don't want to get too much more into it, if that's okay," he said. "Yeah, just focused on getting better now."
Woll didn't miss any time during training camp. He dressed in two exhibition games, including the pre-season finale on Oct. 5. He did appear to be in discomfort after stretching to make a save during a practice on Oct. 3.
Woll missed significant time last season with a high ankle sprain before a back issue kept him out of Game 7 of the playoff series against Boston.
Whenever Woll returns to the crease, he vows to hit the ground running.
"I've had experiences like this before," he said with a smile. "Maybe in the past I'd be a little worried for it, but I trust myself that if I prepare the right way, I trust I can come in and do my job when it's time."
Woll, who signed a three-year extension in the summer, has played 36 regular season games in his NHL career.
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Anthony Stolarz is set to make a third straight start on Saturday. When is the last time he had a chance like this?
"Probably not since I was in the American League, I guess, with San Diego a few years back," he said. "I was kind of a starter there and had a nice stretch of games.
Stolarz posted a .922 save percentage in 39 games with the San Diego Gulls in the 2019-20 season. The last time he started three straight games in the NHL was the 2018-19 season when he played for the Philadelphia Flyers.
"I try to stay on the same routine day in and day out, try not to change too much," the 30-year-old said. "I'm a pretty easygoing guy. It's just kind of get ready, get my pre-game nap, get my same meal in me every day, and take care of my body and let the rest take care of itself."
Stolarz has consistently recorded good numbers in the NHL with a .916 career save percentage in 111 games. But playing time was hard to come by the last five years as he served as the understudy to John Gibson in Anaheim and Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida. He started 24 games last season with the Panthers, which was a career high.
Stolarz, who signed a two-year deal in the summer, is off to a strong start in Toronto with a .940 save percentage in three games.
"He's making the saves he's supposed to make, and he's fighting in traffic," said Berube. "There's a lot of net front [activity] in these games, and his size [6-foot-6] really helps out in that area."
"Just trying to stay level-headed," Stolarz said. "I always think that there's a couple things I can continue to work on, and we've been hammering away at that on the ice here."
Like what?
"Little crease plays around the net," Stolarz said. "There's a couple long lateral plays that, you know, we've been working on, just trying to stay up, try to go side to side on my feet, and just try to stay as big as possible, and be able to locate that puck."
Saturday will be the biggest test for Stolarz so far this season with Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers in town.
"You're going to have to be ready," Stolarz said of matching up against a Vezina Trophy winner. "Just try to stay in the moment."
Stolarz appreciates Shesterkin's composure in the crease.
"He's never really too scrambly, and he's got a little bit of a swagger, a little bit of confidence to him," Stolarz said. "He's probably one of the best, if not the best goalie in the league."
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The Leafs have won three straight games, but Berube halted practice on multiple occasions on Friday because he didn't like what he was seeing.
"We don't want to get complacent, right," the coach said. "That's the biggest thing. Staying sharp. I stopped it a couple of times, just execution for me, you know, being sharp and executing."
At one point, Berube even went over to captain Auston Matthews to provide additional instruction during a drill.
"He keeps guys honest," said winger Nick Robertson. "He gets the best out of us. You don't want to be lackadaisical in practice like that. You want a coach that's hard on you and expects better. That's what brings the best out of us."
The Leafs built a 5-0 lead on Wednesday before watching the Kings start dictating play in the third period. Berube called a timeout after Los Angeles pulled within 5-2.
"It sort of goes back to the last game," Berube said. "You take your foot off the gas a little bit. We don't want to do that."
With the two-day break between games, the Leafs held an optional practice on Thursday with most of the regulars staying off the ice.
"You guys have had plenty of f—king rest," Berube told his players at the stretch circle after practice. "You gotta be more dialled in than that."
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With centre John Tavares still getting over an illness, Toronto's new look third line didn't fare particularly well on Wednesday. The Kings outshot the Leafs 6-1 in the nearly nine minutes that Tavares, Robertson and Pontus Holmberg played at 5-on-5.
"We were trying to get used to each other," Robertson said. "I think last game was kind of hard, not really any sustained offence, but I'm confident in our line to get going next game and to kind of build on chemistry and confidence. Obviously, Johnny's coming back from being sick. I'm confident we'll show up in the game, kind of learn from last game, and hopefully build on something."
Tavares missed last Saturday's game and a practice on Monday due to the illness. He told TSN he dropped eight pounds while battling the bug.
"I know it was a tough game [for] Johnny T with being sick and not skating much," Berube acknowledged. "That line's got some speed on the wings. You've got Holmberg, who's versatile, centre, wing, either position, so you've got two face-off guys in that line. You've got two guys that are really good down in their own zone defensively. So it's a good makeup. I think that we haven't gotten a real makeup yet with Johnny being sick."
It was the Tavares line that was on the ice when the Kings scored their second goal on Wednesday. Holmberg had a chance to clear the zone, but turned the puck over.
"Holmberg and I have talked," Berube revealed. "He's got to be better, too. I think that he had a real good camp and he's not happy with his last two games. He'll be better."
Max Pacioretty rotated in on the third line at practice, but projects to be a healthy scratch for a second straight game.
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Timothy Liljegren made his season debut on Wednesday, but logged only 13 minutes and 55 seconds, which was the lowest total among the team's defence. He also took a penalty.
It looks like Liljegren will be a healthy scratch on Saturday after skating on the fourth pair at practice.
Conor Timmins, who sat out Wednesday's game, reunited with Simon Benoit on the third pair on Friday. Berube pulled Timmins aside for a chat earlier in the week.
"I'll keep that between me and Craig," Timmins told TSN. "Obviously it's no secret the depth we have and everyone's going to get their chance, so everyone's gotta stay ready."
Berube gave Timmins a positive review for his performance in the first three games.
"I liked my game," said Timmins, who picked up an assist while averaging 15 minutes and 21 seconds of ice time. "I kept it simple, defended hard, and felt pretty good."
"It's all about the defensive side of things," Berube stressed. "He was killing penalties, which was good, and he did a good job."
Timmins hasn't killed penalties consistently since his days with the Soo Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League.
"I've enjoyed it," he said. "It's some added responsibility. It's a good way to help out the team. It's gone well so far. I used to kill in junior so I have a basic idea and I'm just trying to get as many reps as possible and learn and build it up."
Timmins struggled to secure consistent playing time with the Leafs since coming over in a trade a couple years ago. Saturday marked his first home opener in the lineup.
"It never ceases to amaze me playing in that arena, just the chills you get," the 26-year-old from St. Catharines, Ont. said. "Obviously me being a Leafs fan growing up, it's pretty surreal every time."
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Lines at Friday's practice:
Knies - Matthews - Marner
McMann - Domi - Nylander
Holmberg - Tavares - Robertson
Lorentz - Kampf - Reaves
Dewar, Pacioretty
Rielly - Tanev
Ekman-Larsson - McCabe
Benoit - Timmins
Myers - Liljegren
Hakanpää
Stolarz
Hildeby
Woll
Power play units at Friday's practice:
Ekman-Larsson, Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares
Rielly, Domi, McMann, Robertson, Knies