Craig Berube is facing a dilemma, and the debate is getting real
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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube is noncommittal on who he’ll start Wednesday vs. Detroit with Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby both struggling recently.
With the Maple Leafs needing a strong comeback game against Detroit on Wednesday, it seems like they won’t know who is going to be in net just yet.
So who is it going to be? According to the head coach — not even he knows right now.
Craig Berube unsure about his starter as struggles start to mount
Berube talked to the media after practice on Tuesday and mentioned that he was still unsure about who to give the nod on Wednesday as the team looks to settle things down against Detroit:
Either man could come in and do a solid job, but they also haven’t had the best string of games recently. Woll has a 4-1-2 record in his last seven starts with only an .884 SV% meanwhile Hildeby has been slightly better going 3-3-1 with a .901 SV%.
But their strong play on the penalty kill has dipped and the team has started to see the results after such a strong stretch where they were nearly perfect when it came t being a man down.
Woll was pulled against Minnesota on Monday after giving up five goals on 29 shots and it might be best to give him a mental reset and let Hildeby take charge on Wednesday so Woll can be fresh for Thursday against Mitch Marner and Vegas.
Hildeby has been good enough to withstand Detroit before, and has put in solid performances against teams like Tampa Bay and Montreal.
If Craig Berube wants to ensure he has enough goaltending help during this next big slate of games, he would do best to rotate them as much as possible to keep them fresh.
With Anthony Stolarz’s return on the horizon, there’s hope on the way but for now it seems like it’s anyone’s guess as to who stands in the crease for Toronto on Wednesday night.
Previously on Hockey Patrol