Leafs’ Stolarz hit in throat in warmup, taken to hospital

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Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was taken to hospital on Saturday night in Ottawa.

Stolarz, who was in line to start against the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre, took a shot to the throat from teammate William Nylander during warmup and departed from the ice immediately.

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The Leafs said in a post on X that Stolarz was taken to hospital for precautionary imaging and that an update would be provided when available.

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With Stolarz unable to play, Joseph Woll started for the Leafs, 24 hours after he was in net for Toronto’s 4-3 loss in overtime at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Leafs coach Craig Berube was pointed in his criticism of Woll, who allowed four goals on 36 shots, after the game. One Hurricanes goal came on a penalty shot by Eric Robinson, while defenceman K’Andre Miller scored on a breakaway while Carolina was shorthanded.

“He’s played well, but tonight in the end — I don’t think, I know — we need a save, whether it’s in the OT or it’s one of the breakaways,” Berube said. “We need a big save there.”

It’s the first time Woll has started in back-to-back days during his National Hockey League career.

Per Sportsnet Stats on X, he most recently did it on March 19 and 20, 2021, while he was with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

For Woll, it was his sixth start in seven games. Since Feb. 2, Woll had a record of 1-5-2 in eight games going into Saturday.

There was no immediate word on the identity of an emergency backup goalie for the Leafs if Woll was injured against the Senators. If Stolarz is out for any length of time, either Dennis Hildeby or Artur Akhtyamov would be recalled from the Marlies.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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