Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll is expected to start Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.
Woll has posted a 24-13-0 record in 37 appearances with a .907 save percentage. He has saved 13.4 goals above expected in all situations, the 17th-best total in the NHL, via MoneyPuck. During the final 11 games of the season, Woll and Stolarz are contesting for the playoff starter role.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube is electing to use the same lines from Tuesday’s 7-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Bobby McMann, John Tavares and William Nylander have been on fire lately, and it seems likely that Berube will be using this combination in the playoffs, with the Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner line firmly entrenched.
“Since putting Bobby on there, it just adds so much speed and strength to the line,” Berube said of the McMann-Tavares-Nylander line following Tuesday’s win. “He is a big, strong guy who can skate. He seems like he is always on the puck. He creates battles for those guys. When they get the puck, they can obviously make plays; Johnny can score. They have been effective for us since we put them together. I have been happy with them.”
Pontus Holmberg is a projected scratch for the second consecutive game, last playing against the Nashville Predators on March 22. Holmberg has been used throughout the lineup, but McMann is a clearly better fit on the second line, while Calle Jarnkrok has effectively forced him out of the bottom-six, for now. Holmberg leads the Maple Leafs with 24 penalties drawn at 5-on-5, which is far and away the best total on the team. The 26-year-old has recorded six goals and 15 points in 58 games this season.
Maple Leafs’ projected lineup vs. Sharks
Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann-John Tavares-William Nylander
Scott Laughton-Max Domi-Nick Robertson
Steven Lorentz-David Kampf-Calle Jarnkrok
Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev
Morgan Rielly-Brandon Carlo
Simon Benoit-Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Joseph Woll (projected starter)
Anthony Stolarz