Joseph Wall’s immediate future is uncertain after injury
Toronto Maple Leafs goalkeeper Joseph Wall left Thursday’s 5-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes with lower body injury. Wall exited before the third period after stopping 22 of 23 shots over two periods, and 24-year-old Dennis Hildeby came in and made nine saves.
Coach Craig Berube did not elaborate on that the condition of the 27-year-old after the game.
When asked about Wall’s condition, Berube said:
“We’ll see tomorrow.”
“I can’t give you that answer right now,” he said when asked how serious the injury was. “I really don’t know. I hope it’s not serious, but I really liked the way the Beast came in and handled it.”
After missing the first month of the season for personal reasons, Wall returned on Nov. 15 and was impressive, posting a .927 save percentage, 2.44 goals-against average and 216 goals in 443 minutes in eight starts. His record is 4-3-1 with no shutouts so far this season.
The injury is of particular concern, as fellow netminder Anthony Stolarz has been sidelined since suffering an upper-body injury on Nov. 11 and has yet to return to skating.
Hildeby, who has a .919 save percentage in seven NHL appearances this season, will now likely assume the primary role at shortstop. The 6-foot-7 Swede, who is 1-2-1 this year, has made more relief appearances (four) than starts (three) and will start Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens, who currently hold a two-point lead on Toronto for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
If Wall’s absence extends or Hildeby fails, the Leafs’ next options are Artur Akhtyamov or Vyacheslav Peksa. However, neither of them have NHL experience.
Toronto was cooking on offense in Thursday’s contest, with Bobby McMann scoring twice and goals from Matthew Nice, Auston Matthews and Scott Lawton. The Leafs snapped the Hurricanes’ two-game winning streak and finished the road 4-1-0, increasing their overall record to 13-11-3.
2025-12-05 11:30:00
