Maple Leafs should split the net when Anthony Stolarz returns despite Joseph Woll's play

CALGARY All his teammates were gone from the visitors dressing room at Rogers Arena in Edmonton while Joseph Woll pulled off the last of his gear, snipping the last bit of tape from his ankles.

Woll had just completed a night that was equal to the busiest of his NHL career a 48-shot barrage that saw only three pucks (that counted) slip past him.

Advertisement It was actually probably easier to wind down because I was a little sleepy, Woll said after practice in Calgary two days later.

Woll has, admittedly, been sleeping more than ever this season as he adjusts to the busiest workload of his professional career.

February has only just begun and Woll has already started more games, faced more shots and spent more time in the net than he did all of last season as an NHL rookie.

The 26-year-old will soon blow past the high-water single-season marks as a pro he established with the Marlies five years ago.

This brings us to a question the Maple Leafs have to be pondering right now as Anthony Stolarz inches closer to a return: How much should Woll play over the final 30 games of the regular season? Its evident in speaking to Woll that this recent stretch without Stolarz, which has seen him perform as the de facto No.

1, has been hugely important for development purposes.

Woll has been learning what it takes to start games on the regular in the NHL a process, he said, that can only occur through experience.

Its work, he said.

Thats what I kinda found out is it takes effort and work to stay feeling good.

Id say this year Ive learned a lot in terms of that what I should do in order to feel the best.

Its been a good learning process.

I think you dont know until you know until youre thrown into that experience.

For me, its just been more focus on recovery, more intention on sleep, more focus on treatment and things like that that maybe in the past wasnt as necessary.

Take that intention on sleep, for instance.

As Woll explained it, during the days when he was playing once a week, that night of sleep four days before his next start wasnt quite as vital.

But if youre playing every other day, he said, its important to prioritize sleep.

Advertisement His body simply requires it.

As expected, playing more times, youre more tired, he added.

As for the increased workload, in some ways, its better for the process.

Its good from a playing standpoint, Woll said, like you get the rhythm and its easier to find your rhythm in the game, I think, when you play more.

Playing more means less time to stew on performance, less time to over-focus as Woll described it.

Especially when youre coming back from injury, theres this tendency, at least for me, to over-focus on things, he said.

Am I going to be good when I come back? Am I ready to play? So you almost over-focus on these things to make sure.

But then when youre doing that, youre really not playing free.

Woll has a well-established postgame routine, which includes some stretching, exercise, a dip in the cold tub and a little journaling.

He finds that getting his thoughts down on paper helps him move forward from that nights performance.

Youre definitely in a better mood after a good game than a bad one, Woll said.

I think thats why its important for me to write some stuff down, get it out of my head.

It helps me close the book on it.

And then I know what I can take and what I need from the game and I can just move on.

Wolls numbers during this run without Stolarz dont fully capture how solid hes been for the Leafs.

His .905 save percentage is tied for 12th among the 15 goalies who have started at least 10 times since the beginning of January (the league average this season is .902).

That doesnt take into account the quality of opportunities hes had to wrestle with.

Only Jeremy Swayman, Mackenzie Blackwood, and Samuel Montembeault have faced more high-danger shots in that stretch than Woll.

Woll has an .811 save percentage on those shots not quite Blackwood (.866) or Swayman (.824) level, but slightly better than Montembeault (.804).

Advertisement With that said, fatigue has been evident at times, mostly when Woll gets beat from deep, from pucks shot from the point or through a maze of traffic: the ones that require just a little extra effort to find.

Wolls save percentage on shots from midrange and high-danger zones are above the league average, but slightly below on shots from long range.

Yet generally, Woll has given his team a chance to win just about every night in this stretch and for the most part this season.

The Leafs might be tempted to let him keep rolling with the starting goalie workshop by having him start two games for every one that goes to Stolarz the rest of the way.

More restraint feels like the right recipe, though, something closer to a 50-50 split.

The Leafs probably had that kind of division in mind before the season around 40 starts, say, for Woll and Stolarz.

Another 15 starts the rest of the way, half of whats left would put Woll at 42 for the season, which feels like the right number.

Another 20 though and hed be up to 47 just over double the number of starts he made last season.

Not unlike a pro baseball team managing the innings of a young starting pitcher from one year to the next, doubling Wolls workload feels like a recipe for trouble, especially for a goalie who has struggled to stay healthy in his professional career.

The more they turn to him, the more the Leafs risk burning Woll out.

Its also worth noting that Woll missed most of October, which means his 27 starts to this point have come in a compressed period of just over three months.

Keep Woll in and around 40 starts this season, and the Leafs can push that number up closer to (or perhaps beyond) 50 next season when his new three-year contract begins.

The priority for Woll should be ensuring hes fresh and healthy for the start of the playoffs.

Same with Stolarz, another goalie dealing with an increased workload this season.

The fact that Stolarz offered top-notch goaltending (.927 save percentage) before he got hurt only strengthens the argument to divide things evenly.

Advertisement Any way you look at it, this spell of starting experience has been good for Woll.

It should better prepare him for what lies ahead in the postseason.

Ive had a lot of people nudge me in different directions, he said of handling the workload.

But you dont really learn something until you learn it, until youre in it.

(Top photo of Joseph Woll: Emilee Chinn / Getty Images).

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