The Toronto Maple Leafs have not been getting the kind of consistent goaltending that they need down the stretch of the regular season, which now has just 10 games remaining.
Joseph Woll has dropped his last two outings and allowed a combined nine total goals, while Anthony Stolarz recently lost five straight games before rebounding with a pair of wins.
The numbers for both goaltenders have dipped since the return to regular season action just over a month ago from the Four Nations Face-Off tournament, something that coach Craig Berube isn't too worried about.
“It’s a little up and down," he said. "They’ve had really good games, too. It’s a bit like our game—just a little too inconsistent at times. But, hey, they’ve played really well for us this year. They’ve been solid. They’re going to have off nights, like everyone else does."
Berube then reiterated the need for his club to tighten up defensively, which would aid the goaltending.
"Defense is a commitment," he said. "I don’t care what system you play. Teams win with different types of systems, but it’s about the commitment to executing it and doing the little things within the system that really tighten things up defensively.”
The Maple Leafs will play the Los Angeles Kings from Crypto.com Arena on Saturday at 7:00 PM EST.
Joseph Woll admitted to having a very subpar game against the San Jose Sharks
Joseph Woll was the first to admit that he didn't have his best game as part of Toronto's 6-5 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
He whiffed on a clearing attempt right as San Jose's William Eklund quickly approached the net; the puck immediately deflected off Eklund's skate and into the net right past the stunned Woll.
Afterward, the netminder admitted that it was a poor play on his part.
"I'm not too sure. Just a bad play. Sometimes you make bad plays," Woll said. "I think I was thinking looking up ice and brain turned off for a second. It's unfortunate."
The good news for Joseph Woll is that the error didn't directly lead to a loss; his teammates managed to battle back and eventually tie the game at 5-5 apiece before ultimately losing in a shootout.
The Leafs salvaged a point in the standings from the game and Woll will use the incident as a learning experience moving forward.
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