Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube Sticks Up For Joseph Woll After Lopsided Loss to Hurricanes
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube defended Joseph Woll following a lopsided loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday evening, and dismissed remarks about his workload becoming a problem.
Without Anthony Stolarz, who underwent knee surgery in mid-December, the Leafs have had to lean on Joseph Woll to be their undisputed number one.
Since Stolarz's injury, Woll, the 2016 third-round pick, has gone 5-3-0 with a 3.03 GAA and sub-par .902 save percentage while starting 8 of the Leafs' last 10 games.
After winning five-straight games, Woll gave up five goals on Thursday to Carolina and posted a .848 save percentage. His performance led to many questioning if the expanded workload is starting to become too much for the 26-year-old, something Craig Berube dismissed as he defended Woll's play.
"He probably wants some back, but he has played some real good hockey for us. He made some real good saves tonight, too. I am sure he wants a couple of the goals back, but he has been battling for us and playing well," said Berube on Woll's play Thursday before dismissing the theory of him being overworked. "I think he's been fine with it. I don't see him getting tired or anything like that. He wants the net. So he's done a good job."
Woll was also asked about his play and the expanded workload following the Leafs' loss Thursday and admitted he was outplayed, but didn't corelate that to playing more. In fact, Woll said he's enjoying it.
"I thought it was a pretty evenly matched game at the end of the day. I thought their goalie outplayed me a bit and I think that's the difference in the game... Yeah, I'm enjoying getting to play a lot.»
The good news for Woll and the Leafs is that they don't face a back-to-back situation until after the 4 Nations Face-Off, meaning that Woll will have some more opportunities to rest. The Leafs welcome the Vancouver Canucks to Toronto Saturday followed by the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
With only two games in the next five days, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Woll play both games.
Through 21 games, the Missouri native has posted a 14-7-0 record with a 2.58 GAA and .912 save percentage and is just 5 games shy of setting a new career-high for games played in a season.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 10 | 1727 ANSWERS Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube Sticks Up For Joseph Woll After Lopsided Loss to Hurricanes Do you think Joseph Woll is being overworked? | ||
| Yes, only because of injury concerns | 617 | 35.7 % |
| No, he said himself he's enjoying it | 896 | 51.9 % |
| Better than trusting Hildeby or Murray | 214 | 12.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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