The biggest reason for be-Leaf in Toronto right now? It's in the crease

It felt like almost a footnote after another tight Toronto Maple Leafs win.

Joseph Woll with another quality start, 22 saves on 24 shots against, and a sixth straight win, this time against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night.

He has a .922 save percentage on the season, good for fourth leaguewide.

Advertisement Ahead of him? Only Filip Gustavsson , Connor Hellebuyck and Leafs teammate Anthony Stolarz , who has been equally unflappable in putting up an 8-4-2 start with a .924 save percentage in his first season in Toronto.

Theres an argument the Leafs have the best tandem in the NHL right now.

They certainly are the only team with two regular starters at .920 or better 25 games into the season.

In a league where the average save percentage has dipped down to .901 as shooters have picked apart netminders, Toronto has gone the other way, posting a team save percentage thats more than 11 points above the NHL norm.

(The team percentage includes Dennis Hildeby and empty net goals allowed.) Thats the first time the Leafs have been that far clear of the NHL average save percentage since way back in 1992-93, when Felix Potvins rookie season earned him a Calder Trophy nomination, an all-rookie-team berth and fourth place in Vezina Trophy voting.

Before that, Toronto hadnt had a tandem this far above the mean since 1978-79, meaning Stolarz-Woll are tracking to be the Leafs second-best goalie duo, statistically, in the last 46 years.

Its early, sure, but thats been a massive factor in their success so far this season.

Part of what makes this feel so novel is the Leafs have been such a goalie-starved franchise for a long time.

Toronto sits fourth-last among all NHL teams in team save percentage in the salary cap era, a span of 20 seasons where only the Edmonton Oilers , Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken have been more porous in net.

Ten of the Leafs franchises 14 worst goaltending seasons since save percentage stats became available in 1959 have come in the last 19 years, including last seasons mess when projected No.

1 Ilya Samsonov posted an .890 save percentage and was placed on waivers on New Years Day 2024.

Advertisement The Leafs goaltending has been so weak in recent decades that they have had just three seasons before this one that have been better than league average since 2004.

Theyve usually had to score their way out of trouble, which has been a tough ask come playoff time.

There are two big questions that naturally come with how well Torontos goalies have played through the first 30 percent of the campaign: 1.

Is this sustainable, given the volatile nature of goalie performance in the NHL? 2.

How much of it is being driven by the Leafs defensive play, with a new coach and different personnel? Lets start with the first one.

The good news for the Leafs is Stolarz and Woll both have a strong track record in their limited sample sizes.

Since Woll entered the league four seasons ago, hes tied for the eighth-best save percentage leaguewide with Juuse Saros and Jake Oettinger (.914) in 45 games played.

Stolarz is further ahead, sitting sixth overall with a .917 save percentage in 88 appearances, more than half of which were with weak teams in Anaheim.

The only goalies ahead of Stolarz in save percentage over the last four seasons creates quite a list: Hellebuyck, Igor Shesterkin , Linus Ullmark , Ilya Sorokin and Frederik Andersen .

If we drill down further by looking at more advanced stats that bring shot quality into the equation, both Woll and Stolarz score even better.

Among the 78 goaltenders who have played at least 40 games over the last four seasons, Woll is seventh in the NHL in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes played.

Stolarz is fourth, trailing only Hellebuyck, Andersen and Shesterkin.

So the biggest reason to question their staying power isnt what theyve already accomplished in the NHL.

Its more so how little theyve played, due to a history of injuries and lack of a shot to play more games at the highest level.

Trying to forecast health for goaltenders is a guessing game Im not going to play here, but what I can say is the fact they have two goalies playing this well gives them a bigger safety net than theyve had in years which we saw when Stolarz stepped up early on with Woll out to start the season.

Advertisement As for Question 2, regarding the Leafs defensive play, theres no question theyve made some changes stylistically and improved in key areas.

Coach Craig Berube is clearly preaching a more grind-it-out, play-it-safe system, one with fewer rush chances both ways.

And he has the luxury of having Chris Tanev , perhaps the best defensive defenceman in the league, playing 19.5 minutes a night, as well.

That said, I think the Leafs defensive improvements have been given too much credit in this market for the fact theyre now the second-best team in the NHL in goals against.

At even strength, Toronto is 17th in shot suppression, 11th in expected goals against and seventh in high-danger chances against.

In all situations, Toronto is 20th, 14th and fifth in those same statistics.

Good, in other words.

Not otherworldly.

So while Berubes system has been effective and deserves credit, its not as if theyre playing such an airtight system that Woll and Stolarz are asleep in a hammock in their crease.

As a team, theyre a tier below uber-defensive clubs like the Wild , based on the data we have available publicly.

And we should note theyve gone a significant stretch missing Auston Matthews and a handful of other forwards, which is going to affect defensive results.

Its really the combination of solid defensive play and two goalies at the top of their game that is working for the Leafs.

And its not really something weve seen a whole lot from them as a team over the years.

(I should know: The first story I wrote on the Leafs beat was called Problems between the pipes.

That was more than 16 years ago.) The other interesting layer to all of this is the Leafs farm club, the Toronto Marlies, lead the AHL in goals against, having given up just 40 through 17 games.

All three goaltenders down there Artur Akhtyamov, Hildeby and Matt Murray have been excellent, giving Toronto a ridiculous level of depth at the position as an organization.

Advertisement That bodes well for if they do run into injuries, as most NHL teams need to go to their third- and fourth-stringer from time to time over 82 games.

Akhtyamov, in particular, looks like he deserves a chance to get a start or two at some point.

You add it all up and this feels like the rare Leafs season where theres not a goalie controversy, theyre not looking for outside help at the position, and theyve had almost no outings on the year where their netminder didnt give them a decent chance to win.

Its been a long time coming, especially for those who have been watching for a while.

(Top photo of Joseph Woll: Dan Hamilton / Imagn Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.