It is an odd thing to say for the Toronto Maple Leafs, since they have been a comfortable playoff participant the last nine seasons, but their Tuesday match against the Chicago Blackhawks has to be filed in the must-win category. The Leafs could have fooled anyone that they had a heartbeat in the third period of their 6-3 loss to Edmonton on Saturday, so two points in the standings are a must against the Connor Bedard-less Hawks.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported that the 20-year-old suffered a separated shoulder in the final minutes of a 3-2 loss to St. Louis last week, and Bedard was placed on injured reserve on Monday.
The injury news was positive in one avenue and shrouded in mystery and secrecy on the other. Goaltender Joseph Woll was taken off IR on Tuesday, allowing youngster Artur Akhtyamov to return to the AHL Marlies. Woll was injured in the second period of the victory over Carolina on December 4th, and in spite of some excellent relief pitching from Dennis Hildeby, the Leafs have lost three of their last four games.
With Woll back, it will have to be the practice of Toronto’s coaching staff to split the workload and not tax him as they did after the Anthony Stolarz injury, when they started him in eight of nine games. Hildeby has proven that he can play effectively in the NHL so far. In the final two weeks of 2025, the Leafs play eight times with two back-to-backs. Hildeby, at a minimum, will play two games, but he should play at least three to keep Woll from ending up on the injured list again.
This careful process is necessitated by the ongoing disappearing act of Stolarz, who has only been seen publicly in a photo celebrating Hildeby’s shutout last week. After indicating on the weekend that Stolarz would not be available anytime soon, Leafs head coach Craig Berube provided another bit of info on the mysterious injury that has kept the veteran netminder out for a month. It is not a concussion, but whatever the injury is, he is not making progress and is consulting a specialist.
Ongoing knee issues were a major concern about signing the 31-year-old to a contract extension and playing him as anything more than a tandem starter, but after starting 13 of the first 16 games, the Leafs have already had to deal with a two-month absence last season, and it appears that this stint on injured reserve will be longer.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (14-12-5 – 33 POINTS)
vs.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (13-13-6 – 32 POINTS)
DECEMBER 16, 2025 ▪ 7:00 PM EST ▪ SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO, ON)
TV: TSN ▪ RADIO: TSN 1050
MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY vs. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
| All-Time Record: | 294-268-96-4 (662 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 170-103-54-2 (329 Games) |
| 2024-25: | 2-0-0 |
| Last Five: | 2-2-1 |
| Last 10: | 5-4-1 |
| First Matchup Between Clubs: | November 17, 1926 (Toronto 1 at Chicago 4) |
| All-Time Record: | 294-268-96-4 (662 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 170-103-54-2 (329 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 124-165-42-2 (333 Games) |
| Last Home Win vs. Opponent: | December 2, 2024 (Toronto 4 vs. Chicago 1) |
MAPLE LEAFS / BLACKHAWKS – 2025-26 TEAM STATS
| TORONTO | CHICAGO | |
| Goals For Per Game: | 3.29 (5th-T) | 2.84 (24th) |
| Goals Against Per Game: | 3.26 (23rd) | 3.00 (15th-T) |
| Power Play %: | 14.3 (30th-T) | 21.5 (10th) |
| Penalty Kill %: | 82.6 (10th) | 84.4 (4th) |
| Shots For Per Game: | 27.1 (21st-T) | 25.6 (26th) |
| Shots Against Per Game: | 31.5 (31st) | 30.3 (28th) |
| Faceoff %: | 56.9 (1st) | 46.9 (28th) |
| (NHL rank in parenthesis) | ||
