The Maple Leafs' final starting goalie announcement of the season has told us everything we need to know about which way the Leafs are leaning for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Starting 8 of the Leafs' last 13 games, Stolarz will be on the bench for the regular season finale Thursday with Joseph Woll getting the start. Whether the start is to rest Stolarz or or one final tune-up for Woll isn't entirely clear, but the smart money is on Stolarz starting Game 1 against the Senators.
Although Stolarz has been phenomenal the last month of the season, Woll hasn't been a slouch, stabilizing the net while the Stanley Cup Champion was recovering from knee surgery for nearly several weeks. The 26-year-old Woll has put up some very respectable numbers in his first full NHL season, starting a career-high 41 games heading into Thursday, while posting a 2.72 GAA and .909 save percentage to go along with a 26-14-1 record.
If the Leafs go deep enough in the playoffs, there's very little question that the Leafs will likely deploy both goaltenders on their run. However, as previously stated, were I a betting man, my money would be on Stolarz tending the twine to start the playoffs.