Locked into No. 1 role, Woll shines for Maple Leafs: 'Standing on his head'
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Joseph Woll made 36 saves in his first start since the Toronto Maple Leafs announced fellow goaltender Anthony Stolarz will be out four-to-six weeks following a knee procedure.
Woll's effort was enough to backstop the Maple Leafs to a 5-3 win despite the team being outshot 39-19 on the night.
“He was standing on his head. He made a couple of huge saves there at the end,” Maple Leafs forward William Nylander said. “Just put the team on his back in these situations.”
“[Woll] was great tonight,” head coach Craig Berube added. “We needed him to be really good against a real good team at home. They’ve got a good home record, they’re hard to beat.
"We needed him to be good and he was. That gives our team confidence too, it plays a lot into it.”
The 26-year-old netminder improved his record to 9-4-0 on the season with a .918 save percentage and a 2.30 goals-against average.
Even the Stars were left to simply admit they ran into a hot goaltender in the loss.
“We played a pretty solid game. Just some pucks got through us. Their goalie played well to his credit,” forward Sam Steel said. “We know there’s certain things when we are scoring that we’re doing, so we just have to get back to that. Once [scoring] does happen, you get a little pep in your step and get some confidence. So we’re going to stick with what we know works and we know we’ll have some success.”
Woll, though, passed credit to his teammates for closing down on the Stars while playing with a lead in the final frame.
“I think we did a real good job capitalizing on our chances,” Woll said. “Especially in the third, I think we had some big blocks and shut it down for the most part. I think when you get up like that and you’re able to hold the lead and tighten it up defensively, it’s always nice.”
Sidelined to start the season with a lower-body injury, Woll has traded starts with Stolarz since his return in late October.
The 30-year-old Stolarz has a 9-5-2 record this season with a league-best .927 save percentage and a 2.15 GAA. Injured last week against the Anaheim Ducks, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving revealed Tuesday that an MRI revealed a loose body resembling "a pebble" in his knee that had to removed.
The Maple Leafs will fly north to visit the skidding Buffalo Sabres on Friday before hosting the New York Islanders on Saturday. Woll and recalled netminder Dennis Hildeby split duties as the Maple Leafs played back-to-back games last weekend.