Leafs waste Woll’s performance in Game 4 loss

SUNRISE – Joseph Woll did everything he could to hold the line.

The Maple Leafs goaltender stretched, contorted and sprawled to make save after save against the Panthers’ onslaught.

His teammates weren’t close to that level.

Woll stopped 35 of the 37 shots he faced Sunday in Toronto’s stifling 2-0 loss to Florida that evened the teams’ second-round playoff series 2-2.

The Leafs, who fell 5-4 in overtime two nights earlier, again had a chance to push the defending Stanley Cup champions to the brink, but instead were second-best most of the night — other than their netminder.

“He was great,” Toronto captain Auston Matthews said. “Helped keep it a 1-0 game there for the most part on some plays that we can’t let happen.”

At one point getting outshot 20-5, the Leafs held a parade to the penalty box in the first period thanks to four straight minors, with the only puck to beat Woll coming off the stick of Carter Verhaeghe just after a 5-on-3 man advantage expired.

“Played an excellent game,” Toronto head coach Craig Berube said.

Woll was stellar from there to keep his team breathing until Sam Bennett took advantage of a turnover and outwaited the battling Leafs goalie on a 2-on-1 with less than eight minutes to go in regulation.

“It’s playoffs, it’s those tight games,” Woll said. “The defence helped me weather the storm a couple times early.”

The 26-year-old from suburban St. Louis was pressed into service when No. 1 crease option Anthony Stolarz took an elbow to the head from Bennett midway through Game 1.

Woll, who entered these playoffs with a .950 save percentage in four previous post-season starts, stopped just 73 of the first 84 shots he faced in this series before stepping up Sunday.

“A couple really huge saves,” Toronto winger William Nylander said. “Kept us in it all the way to the end. Amazing job.”

The Leafs, however, needed a lot more from everyone else as the best-of-seven matchup between Atlantic Division rivals shifts north for Game 5 on Wednesday.

“We knew it wasn’t gonna be easy,” Matthews said. “Both teams took care of home ice, so here we are. We’ve just got to continue to push, clean up some things, get better in different areas.

“Going back on home ice, be excited about that.”

Woll is confident his team can recapture the momentum after Sunday’s performance — and blown 2-0 and 3-1 leads in Game 3.

“We know our identity, we’ve played pretty consistently throughout the season,” he said. “We just have to continue to do what we know.”

FINDING THE RANGE

Matthews is still looking for his first goal of the series after scoring twice against the Ottawa Senators in Toronto’s six-game triumph in the opening round.

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The Leafs’ top line has seen a steady dose of two Selke Trophy candidates — awarded to the NHL’s top defensive forward in the regular-season — in Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart for long stretches against Florida.

“The chances have been there,” said Matthews, who does have three assists. “Just got to do a better job of bearing down on some of them. But for the most part, throughout the four games, we’ve been winning shifts, generating chances against tough matchups, but obviously I want to score.

“Continue to get these opportunities and just capitalize.”

DECISIONS LOOM

Berube will contemplate lineup changes Wednesday after dressing the same forward group and defence corps since Game 3 against Ottawa.

“We’ve got a couple days to think about it,” he said. “And see if we feel there’s a better option.”

Those include winger Nick Robertson, who played twice in the first round, and centre David Kampf up front.

“I thought most guys were engaged,” Berube added. “There’s guys that could do more, for sure, and we’re going to need more out of them.”

THREAT ASSESSED

Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk was caught on camera at the final buzzer appearing to tell Nylander “I’m going to get you” after Leafs forward Max Domi drilled Barkov into the boards from behind in the dying seconds.

“That’s what he does,” Nylander said of Tkachuk. “He’ll probably do whatever he can to get a player off their game. Next game will be a fun one.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2025.

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