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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson declined to tip his hand about the goaltending for his team’s set of back-to-back games.

Wilson said, with a straight face, he doesn’t know if Jonas Gustavsson will play Friday night in Raleigh, N.C., against the Carolina Hurricanes as well as Saturday at the Air Canada Centre against the Detroit Red Wings in the Hockey Hall of Fame game.

While there is an argument for starting Vesa Toskala against the Hurricanes, it is not a strong one given the Leafs’ circumstances. “I haven’t thought about it,” was all Wilson would say about the situation after Thursday’s practice.

After 13 games, the Leafs are still looking for their second win of the NHL season. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have tied the Leafs for 30th and last place overall thanks to an 0-7-3 run in their last 10 games, making 29th place overall the prize for the winner of Friday’s game.

Toskala’s last start was the 5-4 shootout loss in Montreal to the Canadiens last Saturday. If he does not start Friday night, the next opportunity for him will not come until Nov. 13 in Chicago against the Blackhawks because at this point, given the hostility of the home fans toward Toskala, Wilson is not inclined to start him at home.

But the goaltender needs at least some work to stay active despite his struggles and there is the risk of working Gustavsson too hard. He recently returned from a two-week absence due to a groin injury. Wilson did say Gustavsson has medical clearance to play both games.

The only lineup change will see defenceman Jeff Finger finally get into a game at the expense of Garnet Exelby. There will be a shuffle among the centres, with John Mitchell getting to play with newly returned right winger Phil Kessel. Matt Stajan will take Mitchell’s old spot between Lee Stempniak and Niklas Hagman.