The Toronto Maple Leafs have been platooning goaltenders Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll all season long. While Stolarz seems to have a slight edge on Woll to start Game 1 of the playoffs, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube was asked if he'd consider a tandem situation for the playoffs.
"I never have," Berube said, pointing to his previous experience before coming head coach of the Leafs last summer. : "I've had to put goalies in those situations, but that's something I've never done. It's always a question we'll discuss and we'll go over at some point here. Maybe we already have."
Berube was referring that he's had to use both of his goaltenders in the playoffs before, but usually there was a reason to make a switch as opposed to going with a definite tandem to split the workload.
It's quite a shift from last month when Berube was asked a similar question and responded differently.
"Going into the playoffs, there is normally one guy who is going to take control of it, Berube said on Feb. 28. "Sometimes, you have to make switches, which I have done in the past. I remember I started [Ville] Husso against Minnesota in the playoffs [with St. Louis]. I thought he was the better goalie down the stretch. He played the first two games. And then [Jordan] Binnington came in, and we won the series. Binnington played until he got hurt against Colorado and played extremely well. He got hurt, so Husso had to go in. There are always things you are going to have to change, but going into the playoffs, you want one guy to be ready to take it."
A very well attended morning skate is set to begin for the #Leafs here as they host the Panthers. Anthony Stolarz is in the home net and is the projected starter for Toronto tonight.
— David Alter (@dalter) April 2, 2025
@BodogCA pic.twitter.com/kpNABuaofn
The Leafs have been in the position of switching their goalies in the playoffs before, using two goaltenders in the playoffs due to injury or performance. The last time the Leafs rode one goaltender the whole way was in the playoffs was in their 2021 first-round playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens when Jack Campbell played every minute. Campbell started every game of the 2022 playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning but was pulled in favor of Erik Kallgren midway through Game 4.
Woll has two years of playoff experience under his belt, relieving former Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, it was due to an injury for Samsonov, while performance dictated a change in the net last season.
No goaltender has really come out and taken the starting job and perhaps that's reason enough to continue to go with the flow.
Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on
Topics in this Story
