Goaltender Dennis Hildeby says he is feeling more confident than ever in his third training camp with the Maple Leafs.
鈥淢ore confidence comes from being with the team longer,鈥 Hildeby said Tuesday. 鈥淚 know more of the guys, and I think I’ve taken steps in my development. I definitely feel better compared to before.鈥
That鈥檚 a good thing, too, because Hildeby is now the second-string goalie with Joseph Woll taking a leave of absence from the team to attend to a family matter.
So Tuesday night鈥檚 exhibition game against the Ottawa Senators took on a bit more urgency, with Hildeby getting the start. He didn鈥檛 disappoint, stopping all 23 shots he faced over two periods, ceding the net in the third period to Artur Akhtyamov.
鈥淲e love the size,鈥 Leafs coach Craig Berube said of the six-foot-seven Hildeby. 鈥淗e’s got a lot of tools, too. He’s an athletic guy for a big guy.鈥
Hildeby made a couple of key pad saves in the first period, one on Michael Amadio, another on Olle Lycksell. But he brought the crowd to its feet with a series of saves in the second period with the Senators on the power play.
鈥淚 feel like I stuck to my game plan and what I’ve been focusing on,鈥 Hildeby said. 鈥淗appy with that. Not perfect. Some of those chances came from rebounds. But it was a great start.”
Auston Matthews and Bobby McMann scored in the first period, but the Senators came back to win 3-2 in overtime. Shane Pinto was Ottawa’s hero, tying the game in the last minute on the power play and winning it in overtime.
Matias Maccelli got a secondary assist on Matthews鈥 game-opening goal, a shot set up by Oliver Ekman-Larsson on a play that almost seemed too easy. William Nylander, interestingly, took the ice with Matthews for the 3-on-3 overtime.
鈥淔irst game, so there’s going to be some good, bad and some ugly, but you take what you can from it.,” Matthews said. “Get better and just continue to build each day.
“As a team, especially the second half the game, we could have taken better care of the puck. That’s getting the summer hockey habits kind of out of your system.鈥
About Woll
Just what has happened to Woll or his family to result in what could be a prolonged leave of absence is subject to speculation. Woll was front and centre on Day 1 of the camp but was listed as ill after that.
鈥淛ust for some context, this isn鈥檛 a substance issue. It’s not a substance abuse issue,鈥 Leafs GM Brad Treliving said Tuesday. 鈥淚t’s a personal family matter.鈥
Woll is still expected to share the net this season with Anthony Stolarz, although there is no
There is no timeline for Woll鈥檚 return, and no sense of panic coming from the Leafs.
鈥淲e’re all here for him and feel for him and doing our best to support him and give him space,鈥 teammate Matthew Knies said.
For now, the Leafs will make do with the goaltending bodies under contract: Anthony Stolarz, Hildeby, Akhtyamov and Vyacheslav Peksa.
鈥淲e’re comfortable with the goalies that we have, and we’ll just wait and see,鈥 Treliving said. 鈥淥ur expectation is that Joe’s going to be back with us. But we’ll see.鈥
As always, when one player goes down due to injury or any other reason, it鈥檚 an opportunity for another. And right now, that鈥檚 Hildeby, who signed a three-year extension over the summer. The Leafs did not sign a veteran goaltender to act as a third-stringer.
鈥淭hem showing confidence in me helps,鈥 Hildeby said. 鈥淚t’s up to me to earn that trust every day and keep working.鈥
Hildeby says he is trying to learn from Stolarz, who is six-foot-six. 鈥淗e鈥檚 always been very supportive and such a nice guy. I love to have him around. Helps me out a lot.鈥
Stolarz says he鈥檚 happy to help.
鈥淎nytime I can help out any goalie, any guy, forward, defenceman, I鈥檓 a team-first guy,鈥 Stolarz said. ”(Hildeby) being a big guy, he鈥檚 someone I like to watch聽鈥 his pace and the way he’s able to read the play.
There probably isn鈥檛 a proven scorer in the NHL with more to prove this coming season.
鈥淗e got a cup of coffee last year and got (six) starts in. And you can definitely tell that helped his confidence going into the camp this year. He looks really good.鈥
Who鈥檚 available?
There are a handful of NHL-experienced goalies available as free agents, but it鈥檚 doubtful the Leafs would be interested in any of them. Two of them, Ilya Samsonov and James Reimer, are former Leafs. Carter Hart, though acquitted, carries the baggage of a sex assault trial involving players from Canada鈥檚 2018 world junior team.
Making a mark
The Maple Leafs’ top two prospects, forward Easton Cowan and defenceman Ben Danford, each got into their second pre-season game. Cowan earned an assist on McMann鈥檚 power-play goal. Danford played mostly a quiet, physical game.
鈥淚 love their games,鈥 Berube said, adding he鈥檚 looking for things in their game. 鈥淗ow is he (Cowan) going to fit in our lineup? Can he make a play? For Danford, he’s got great feet as a defenceman. He’s very composed out there. Physical player. I love the way he moves the puck. He’s got his head up.鈥
Injury update
Max Domi was excused Tuesday to attend the funeral of his maternal grandfather 鈥 Simon Benoit remained sidelined with an undisclosed injury 鈥 Nicolas Roy returned to practice after missing Sunday鈥檚 training session with an undisclosed injury.
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