Sheldon Keefe explains his decision to start Joseph Woll tonight against Bedard and the Blackhawks
In the back of everyone's minds this summer, the most likely goaltending tandem in Toronto always looked to be Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll, but that never truly became a reality until we had our resolution to the Matt Murray issue. Now, with Murray expected to miss 6-8 months following surgery and Martin Jones having cleared waivers, the tandem is set. Unfortunately, Samsonov did not get off to a strong start this season.
Samsonov drew the assignment of the first two starts of the season against Montreal and Minnesota. However, while his record reads 2-0-0, those two victories don't tell the whole story. His 4.42 GAA and .839 SV% are far more reflective of the work he's done through 2 games.
With Sammy struggling out of the gate, it didn't take long for head coach Sheldon Keefe to pivot to backup Joseph Woll, who put together a very tidy 6-1-0 record in limited action for the Leafs last season. His 2.16 GAA and .932 SV% were extremely promising and if he can carry over his strong play into this season, he has a chance to run away with the starting job early.
Keefe announced on Sunday that Woll would get the start against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. He also had some very good things to say about what he has seen from Woll in the pre-season and in practice so far this year.
"He looks good. He looks way more comfortable. He knows he belongs here now. He earned that through his play last season and he has given us no reason to doubt that from his performance through camp and pre-season." - Keefe on Woll
In the meantime, it will be up to Ilya Samsonov to work with Curtis McElhinney, Curtis Sanford and the rest of the goaltending department to try to clean up some of the details of his game, namely rebound control, which has been abysmal through his first two starts.
It's a little too early for any goaltending controversy in Toronto, but it also wouldn't surprise me to see Woll begin to separate himself and stake his claim to the starting role if Samsonov's inconsistent play continues.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 16 | 84 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe explains his decision to start Joseph Woll tonight against Bedard and the Blackhawks With Samsonov getting off to such a rough start, should the Leafs lean more on Joseph Woll early on? | ||
| Yes, Woll is the better goalie | 9 | 10.7 % |
| No, we're only 2 games in | 26 | 31 % |
| Play whoever is playing better | 44 | 52.4 % |
| Woll hasn't even played a game yet | 5 | 6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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