The Maple Leafs have activated Joseph Woll from injured reserve in the midst of a busy slate of games.
Woll, who was unexpectedly placed on IR with lower-body tightness on opening day of the schedule — the latest in a string of ailments that has affected his chances at earning the No. 1 netminding job — could play as early as Thursday night against his hometown St. Louis Blues at Scotiabank Arena.
In a corresponding move, the club sent Dennis Hildeby back to the AHL Toronto Marlies. He had a win and loss in his first two NHL starts backing up Anthony Stolarz.
At the team’s morning skate, Woll was in the starter’s net — a good indication that he will be getting the call against coach Craig Berube’s former team.
Brought in from the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, Stolarz has been an early season success story for Toronto in his five starts with a .938 save percentage.
The Leafs play in Boston on Saturday, their first meeting since the Bruins defeated them there in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series this past spring. Woll was injured for that do-or-die matchup and the now-departed Ilya Samsonov played that night.
In his NHL career, Woll has a record of 21-13-1 with a goals-against average of 2.76 and a save percentage of .912.
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