MONTREAL -- Joseph Woll did not start in goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their season opener against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Wednesday because of a lower-body injury.
Anthony Stolarz started for the Maple Leafs. Coach Craig Berube said Woll complained of tightness after practice Tuesday, leading to goalie Dennis Hildeby being recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis.
Berube did not rule out Woll starting at the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, but Hildeby will continue to travel with the team.
Woll, 26, signed a three-year, $10.98 million contract with Toronto ($3.66 million average annual value) on July 1 that begins next season. He went 12-11-1 with a 2.94 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in 2023-24, when he missed more than two months because of a high ankle sprain. He also missed Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Boston Bruins with an undisclosed injury.
Stolarz signed a two-year, $5 million contract ($2.5 million AAV) with Toronto on July 3. The 30-year-old was 16-7-2 with a League-leading 2.03 GAA and .925 save percentage (minimum 25 games) for the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers last season.
“Really, really, really good goalie,” Maple Leafs forward Max Pacioretty said of Stolarz. “The first couple of days [of training camp], I don’t think I scored a single goal on him, like the first four or five practices, it was starting to get me pretty upset. He’s massive in there. He’s really big, takes up a lot of net.”
Hildeby has never played an NHL game. The 23-year-old was selected by Toronto in the fourth round (No. 122) of the 2022 NHL Draft.
NHL.com independent correspondent Sean Farrell contributed to this report
