Leafs coach Craig Berube’s latest comments spark goalie controversy in Toronto!
Take a look at Toronto’s projected Game 1 Playoff Roster, down below:
Later tonight, the Maple Leafs can punch their ticket to the postseason for a ninth straight year if they get a point against the Florida Panthers on home ice in Toronto. Against the defending champions, Leafs head coach Craig Berube announced after the morning skate that goalie Anthony Stolarz is getting the start.
Berube was then asked about the plan in between the pipes for the postseason as many fans, pundits and insiders wonder if he will used a goalie rotation during the postseason. His answer, per TSN’s Mark Masters, hinted at the fact that the bench boss would prefer to stick to one netminder for the playoff run, which is set to provoke controversy in Toronto.
“That’s something I’ve never done. It’s always, I guess, a question, though. We’ll discuss and we’ll go over it at some point here. Maybe we already have. We’ll see,” Berube said, smiling in his last sentences.
Tonight’s lineup against Florida could hint at the Game 1 roster for the postseason:
Knies - Matthews - Marner
McMann - Tavares - Nylander
Laughton - Domi - Jarnkrok
Holmberg - Kampf - Lorentz
McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - OEL
Stolarz
Woll
The Maple Leafs keep fighting for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, sitting one point ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning and two points ahead of the Panthers after their loss on Tuesday. All three clubs have played 74 games.
While Berube would love to see his Leafs win the Atlantic Division for the first time since realignment, he is more focused on making sure Toronto can prove it won’t choke, again, in the postseason. The Maple Leafs have been ousted in the first round in seven of the past eight years, having reached the second round just in the 2023 playoffs before falling to the Panthers in five games.
Berube knows how important it will be to pick the right goalie for the run, and perhaps, he does not even know now who, between Stolarz and Joseph Woll, will be his starter during the postseason.
I guess a little competition between the two will do some good in Toronto.
