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The Toronto Maple Leafs begin a difficult home-and-home series on Wednesday, as they take on the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank Arena. The Jets surprisingly lead the Central Division over Colorado and Dallas with a 30-11-4 record, due to their defense and Vezina Trophy favorite Connor Hellebuyck allowing a league-low 104 goals against.
The Leafs are coming off a split on their four-game Western road trip, with wins over Calgary and Seattle.
The club has been scrambling between the pipes for almost a month, leaning heavily on veteran Martin Jones, who has made all but two starts since December 30. Toronto is just one game over .500 (6-5-1) over that stretch, which is the reason why they have fallen from the top three in the Atlantic and are currently in the top wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.
Coming off a solid start in a 3-1 victory over the Kraken on Sunday, head coach Sheldon Keefe will go back with Ilya Samsonov, hoping the former #1 can carry some of the load along with Jones. Keefe updated the status of injured goalie Joseph Woll, who suffered a high ankle sprain on December 7 and has been seen on the ice at the Ford Performance Centre in recent days.
Joe Woll pic.twitter.com/fVqFuGWZys
— Kevin McGran (@kevin_mcgran) January 23, 2024
“(Joseph) is progressing very well. He is going to remain here and work through our bye week and All-Star break. He will remain on the ice. The plan or the hope is that once we return, he will be closer to or ready to join our practices.… Keefe said on Wednesday. “I would say that his coming back to play after the All-Star break would not be imminent. It would more be progressing with the practices, testing it, and progressing from there. He is still quite a ways away.…
After the All-Star break and the Leafs bye would be a full two months after the injury in Ottawa, which is not surprising since it is a high ankle sprain for a goaltender. Toronto will have to survive without Woll likely until mid-February, at which time they might carry three goalies to keep his workload light.
Keefe will make some line changes for the Jets, in part due to Tyler Bertuzzi being excused for the impending birth of his child. Pontus Holmberg will fill in on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander. Nick Robertson will remain with Max Domi and Calle Jarnkrok, and Bobby McMann will return to the lineup on the fourth line with David Kampf and Noah Gregor.
On defense, veteran Mark Giordano will sit for the second straight game in favor of Conor Timmins.
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