Wonder-Woll Steals Win Over Columbus

Anyone who has watched me on the Leafs Convo or anything where discussing the Toronto Maple Leafs, knows my mantra regarding the Leafs goaltending has been that the most important thing is to find out whether Joseph Woll can be a #1 starting goalie. Over the last five games with Anthony Stolarz out, the 26-year-old has taken over and been the main reason why the Leafs have a pair of victories, including a superb 35-save performance in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.

Easton Cowan and William Nylander scored for the Leafs, who, with their backs against the wall in terms of climbing back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, played a tighter defensive road game as opposed to their pathetic effort in Montreal on Saturday. Toronto still needed Woll to stand on his head on a number of occasions to keep the game even. 

“I thought (Woll’s) battle was really good at net. I thought he fought through traffic and was seeing it really well tonight.”  Leafs head coach Craig Berube said. “(Joseph) looks sharp, he looks like he’s on his toes, he’s seeing the play really well and playing a lot of pucks.” 

Zach Werenski finally beat the Leafs netminder late in third period to break the scoreless tie and at that point, but Toronto rallied to tie the game 3:13 later, as Nylander – fresh off of being scolded by Berube on the bench – set up Cowan for his second goal of the season (ironically, both goals have come in Toronto’s two road victories). Late in overtime, Nylander patiently waited in the slot and beat Jet Greaves to give the Leafs the win and move them out of last place in the very tight East. 

“(Easton) is playing pretty good hockey. Is there mistakes…definitely. He’s a young kid,” Berube said. “He learns from them in my opinion, he listens, and he wants to get better. He’s got ice water in his veins; he just plays. He knows his capabilities and what he can do.”

The last two seasons, injuries and leaves of absence have been considerations, but when it came down to it, both Sheldon Keefe and Craig Berube have opted to use tandems and given heavy workloads to the likes of Martin Jones, Ilya Samsonov, and, since the beginning of last season,  Stolarz. 

My assertion has always been that while Stolarz is a good goalie, he cannot be the primary go-to guy, especially in the postseason when a goalie has to go every other night, because of his durability issues. Stolarz showed that was the case to start the season with Woll unavailable. Since his return on November 15, Woll has posted a 2.53 GAA and a .921 save %. 

With Toronto still short-handed on the blueline, it is likely that they will need to play this ‘close to the vest’ type of defensive game to grind out road victories, and that will also require Woll to continue to play at this high level. 

After the Thanksgiving break, the Leafs take on the Washington Capitals on Black Friday and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.