Joseph Woll activated from IR, will debut vs. Blues

The Toronto Maple Leafs activated goalie Joseph Woll from the injured list on Thursday, with the 26-year-old expected to draw the start against the St. Louis Blues.

The Maple Leafs sent down goalie Dennis Hildeby to the Marlies in a corresponding move.

Woll missed the first seven games of the season after suffering a lower-body injury ahead of Toronto’s regular-season opener on Oct. 9 against the Montreal Canadiens.

Anthony Stolarz won three of his five starts with a .938 save percentage and 1.83 goals against average. Hildeby appeared in two games, recently surrendering six goals and taking the loss on Tuesday in Columbus.

Woll appeared in 25 games with the Maple Leafs last season, finishing with a 12-11 record and a .907 save percentage. He took over the net in the Leafs’ first-round series against the Boston Bruins with the team facing elimination and helped them force a Game 7 after posting a .086 goals-against average and .964 save percentage in three games, including two starts.

An injury at the end of Game 6 forced him to miss Game 7, which Toronto lost with Ilya Samsonov in net.

On July 1, the Maple Leafs signed Woll to a three-year extension with an average annual value of $3.66 million. He is in the final year of his contract, carrying a $766,667 cap hit.

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube will face off against his former team for the first time since being fired by the Blues last season. Berube and the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2018-19. He was hired as Sheldon Keefe’s replacement in May.