TORONTO -- Joseph Woll is expected to continue carrying the workload in goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs with the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round against the Florida Panthers shifting to South Florida for Games 3 and 4.
That's the message to be gleaned from Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube after he was asked if Anthony Stolarz would travel on the team charter later in the day.
"I doubt it," Berube said Thursday. "Not right away."
Stolarz was not on the ice for the morning skate on Friday.
Woll is expected to start Game 3 at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC) with Matt Murray backing up. The Panthers are down 2-0 heading home and will be making a big push early on, so the 26-year-old must brace himself.
For his part, he's performed like he's ready for it.
Woll had not played since April 17 prior to Game 1 on Monday. When Stolarz came to the bench and began throwing up during a TV timeout midway through Toronto's 5-4 victory, Woll entered in relief and stopped 17 of the 20 shots he faced the rest of the way. All the while, Stolarz was transported out of Scotiabank Arena by stretcher and taken to a hospital for further examination. He had his mask dislodged on two separate occasions prior to his departure, the second at 7:16 of the second period when the arm of Panthers forward Sam Bennett made contact with his head during a scramble in front of the net.
Stolarz was healthy enough to visit his teammates at the Ford Performance Centre practice facility Tuesday but is not yet ready to return to the ice, leaving the Maple Leafs' hopes in Woll's capable hands. He was solid again in Game 2 on Wednesday, making 25 saves in a 4-3 win.
Not bad for a guy making his first start in 20 days.
"It's something I had to focus on and come up with a plan to stay ready as well as I can," Woll said. "It's a different challenge from the one where you play every night but a challenge, nonetheless. And I think I've done what I've needed to do to prepare to be in this spot."
Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner feels Woll has done a great job of staying prepared.
"It's amazing," he said. "We have so much confidence in our goalies. And Joe just comes in with such a calming presence. Just his preparation before games and during games. …
"It's just so professional to see how he takes things every day."
