The winless Maple Leafs could take up a whole row of airplane seats with four goaltenders on their coming five-game road trip, but the most nervous has to be Joey MacDonald.
With Jonas Gustavsson and Vesa Toskala close to being ready, the projected starter for Saturday's game against Vancouver wants to leave a good impression after being in net for the team's past two losses. Toskala forfeited his starting job to Gustavsson and then both were hurt, elevating MacDonald, with James Reimer summoned from the AHL's Marlies. MacDonald wasn't bad, but the month-long team problem of one bad goal per game haunted him as well.
Though the two injured stoppers worked out in full equipment at the Mastercard Centre yesterday, they won't likely be ready for Saturday, giving MacDonald a chance to make a good impression before his likely return to the AHL.
"Whatever the circumstances are, you have to make the coach's decision tougher," MacDonald said. "Once we get that first win, we're going to string a few together."
Coach Ron Wilson is pleased with the gradual progress of Toskala (knee) and Gustavsson (groin).
"I'm sure Vesa and Jonas will be ready sometime during the trip," Wilson said, having hinted Gustavsson would be his choice to play in Anaheim on Monday or Dallas on Wednesday. "We'll need those other guys (MacDonald and Reimer) until they're ready."
