<p>Joseph Woll is the projected starting goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs for Thursday&#8217;s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.</p>
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<p>Woll has won his past five starts and has operated as Toronto&#8217;s unquestioned No. 1 goaltender for the past month, with Anthony Stolarz expected to return from a knee injury in late January. The 26-year-old has posted a 14-6-2 record with a .915 save percentage and 2.46 goals against average this season.</p>
<p>Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube appears to be making a few changes, based on line rushes posted by <a href="https://x.com/dalter/status/1877394169557041154">David Alter of The Hockey News</a>. Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg appear to be back in the lineup, while Max Pacioretty and Ryan Reaves could be out. Robertson was placed on Toronto&#8217;s third line alongside Max Domi and Steven Lorentz, while Holmberg slotted in on the fourth line next to Connor Dewar and David Kampf. Pacioretty&#8217;s scratch could be due to maintenance, while Reaves has been completely ineffective in a fourth line role this season.</p>
<p>Berube shuffled the defence pairs during Thursday&#8217;s practice. Morgan Rielly will be reunited with Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson will play with Philippe Myers, while Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins remain intact. Rielly-Tanev were initially paired together to start the season, and Tanev has functioned as Toronto&#8217;s best defenceman this season. Jake McCabe is out of the lineup through January 12 with an upper-body injury, and we&#8217;ll get another look at the Rielly-Tanev pairing, which could be a potential long-term top-pairing for the Maple Leafs, depending on how long McCabe remains out of the lineup.</p>
<p>Rielly-Tanev have controlled 62.35 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5, with a plus-14 shot differential and an even goal differential (5-5) in 113:19 at 5-on-5 via <a href="https://www.naturalstattrick.com/pairings.php">Natural Stat Trick</a>.</p>
<p>Marshall Rifai was the odd man out, but he could see some playing time eventually — it&#8217;s possible he gets first look of the season Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks.</p>
<h3>Maple Leafs&#8217; projected lineup vs. Hurricanes</h3>
<p><em>Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner </em></p>
<p><em>Bobby McMann-John Tavares-William Nylander</em></p>
<p><em>Nick Robertson-Max Domi-Steven Lorentz</em></p>
<p><em>Connor Dewar-David Kampf-Pontus Holmberg</em></p>
<p><em>Morgan Rielly-Chris Tanev </em></p>
<p><em>Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Philippe Myers </em></p>
<p><em>Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins </em></p>
<p><em>Joseph Woll (projected starter) </em></p>
<p><em>Dennis Hildeby </em></p>
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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Joseph Woll is the projected starting goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs for Thursday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
Woll has won his past five starts and has operated as Toronto's unquestioned No. 1 goaltender for the past month, with Anthony Stolarz expected to return from a knee injury in late January. The 26-year-old has posted a 14-6-2 record with a .915 save percentage and 2.46 goals against average this season.

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube appears to be making a few changes, based on line rushes posted by <a href="https://x.com/dalter/status/1877394169557041154">David Alter of The Hockey News</a>. Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg appear to be back in the lineup, while Max Pacioretty and Ryan Reaves could be out. Robertson was placed on Toronto's third line alongside Max Domi and Steven Lorentz, while Holmberg slotted in on the fourth line next to Connor Dewar and David Kampf. Pacioretty's scratch could be due to maintenance, while Reaves has been completely ineffective in a fourth line role this season.

Berube shuffled the defence pairs during Thursday's practice. Morgan Rielly will be reunited with Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson will play with Philippe Myers, while Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins remain intact. Rielly-Tanev were initially paired together to start the season, and Tanev has functioned as Toronto's best defenceman this season. Jake McCabe is out of the lineup through January 12 with an upper-body injury, and we'll get another look at the Rielly-Tanev pairing, which could be a potential long-term top-pairing for the Maple Leafs, depending on how long McCabe remains out of the lineup.

Rielly-Tanev have controlled 62.35 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5, with a plus-14 shot differential and an even goal differential (5-5) in 113:19 at 5-on-5 via <a href="https://www.naturalstattrick.com/pairings.php">Natural Stat Trick</a>.

Marshall Rifai was the odd man out, but he could see some playing time eventually — it's possible he gets first look of the season Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks.
<h3>Maple Leafs' projected lineup vs. Hurricanes</h3>
<em>Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner </em>

<em>Bobby McMann-John Tavares-William Nylander</em>

<em>Nick Robertson-Max Domi-Steven Lorentz</em>

<em>Connor Dewar-David Kampf-Pontus Holmberg</em>

<em>Morgan Rielly-Chris Tanev </em>

<em>Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Philippe Myers </em>

<em>Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins </em>

<em>Joseph Woll (projected starter) </em>

<em>Dennis Hildeby </em>
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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Woll projected starter vs. Hurricanes, Rielly-Tanev reunited, Robertson, Holmberg in, Pacioretty, Reaves out

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