The Toronto Maple Leafs’ season MVP has suffered an injury.
No, I’m not talking about Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, or William Nylander; I’m talking about Toronto Maple Leafs rookie goalie Joseph Woll.
Woll suffered a leg injury in the third period after channeling his inner Dominik Hasek for the majority of the game, forcing Martin Jones to finish the job, which he did.
At the time of writing, there is no set timeline for Woll’s return, but he appears to be out for at least a couple of weeks.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a very inconsistent season thus far, but they’re in a pretty good spot in the standings, thanks in large part to Woll cleaning up their numerous defensive mistakes.
This could be a difficult couple of weeks without their rookie netminder unless they clean up their act.
The MVP of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been injured.
As previously stated, Joseph Woll has been named the Leafs’ MVP to begin the season.
Auston Matthews has a high number of goals this season, but he has been far too inconsistent to be the Leafs’ best player, and he frequently fails to show up.
Mitch Marner’s play has improved recently (5 points in his last three games), but he, like Matthews, has been far too inconsistent this season. And even William Nylander, whose scoring rate has slowed significantly since his lengthy point streak to begin the season (though he did score last game).
Woll has played more games this season than any other Leafs player, and it’s not even close. The recent game against Ottawa is a prime example. The Maple Leafs were sloppy, slow, and gave up far too many grade-A opportunities. Woll stopped 29/31 shots prior to his injury, and the Leafs will lose without him.
To be fair, Woll isn’t perfect, and he’s had a few off nights this season.
But no goalie is ever perfect, and with the way the Leafs have played defensively this season, can you blame Woll for having a few rough games?
The last few Stanley Cup winners have come from a hot goaltender (Aiden Hill, Andrei Vasilevski, Jordan Binnington, to name a few), and Woll has a good chance of doing the same. Even recent finalists have been carried to the finals by outstanding goaltending (as seen in Florida and Montreal, both of which defeated the Leafs).
The Leafs, on the other hand, must improve their game, especially with Woll out for the foreseeable future.
Who knows, maybe this is the wake-up call the Leafs need to start playing better, and maybe this is the year they figure it out.
On the other hand, Woll’s injury could be disastrous, and the Leafs may struggle during his absence.
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