LEAFS GAME 2 TAKEAWAYS: A chill Joseph Woll maturing into playoff presence
The Leafs won 4-3 and now lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 heading back to Sunrise
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The Florida Panthers were trying to get through the front door, back door, basement and chimney.
But the Maple Leafs held out, won 4-3 and now lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 heading back to Sunrise.
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LEAFS GAME 2 TAKEAWAYS: A chill Joseph Woll maturing into playoff presence Back to video
Our takeaways on contributions up and down the Leafs’ lineup.
WOLL STANDS TALL
Two years ago against Florida, Joseph Woll looked rather overwhelmed in his first playoff pressure cooker, ending with an overtime loss and Panther behemoth Radko Gudas right in his face.
On Wednesday, he kicked out 25 pucks and survived a third-period crush that has taken out many teams as part of Florida’s intimidating playoff presence, his second win of the series.
“I was just trying to stay in the moment, stick to my process,” said Woll, who has impressed older teammates since he broke into the NHL with detailed preparation that often sees him be the first in and last out at practice.
Game 2 was a different animal, his first start in almost three weeks as the new last line of defence with Anthony Stolarz’s head injury. Where Stolarz uses his big body to fill the net, Woll relies on many stretch pad saves. Where Stolarz will chirp teammates, Woll is more reserved.
“Joe just comes out with such a calming presence,” Mitch Marner said. “With his age (26), it’s just so professional to see. There’s never any worry with either guy in net.”
Coach Craig Berube picked Stolarz as his playoff starter in late March, but his enthusiasm for Woll never waned.
“Pucks are coming to the net all the time when you’re playing Florida,” said Berube. “He made saves. He was on his toes, fighting through traffic. Very impressed with him tonight.”
WHAT A WEEK FOR MITCH
From the birth of his son, his 28th birthday, assisting on the Game 1 winning goal and clinching Game 2 with his own, Marner will have a tale to tell his infant son Miles in years to come.
“It’s been a whirlwind, a really exciting time in our house with my wife. She’s let me get my sleep the last few days and taken the reins with the newborn. It was a pretty special feeling tonight, scoring that one.”
He was first on a puck near the Florida blueline, spun and flicked a high puck that Sergei Bobrovsky didn’t see.
“There’s a lot of good stuff happening in his life,” Berube noted. “He’s a great player, we all know that. He touches all areas of the game, but does have the ability to make something happen when it counts; his 4 Nations Face-Off play to Connor McDavid (in the February tournament) and tonight. That’s what we need from those guys.”
Were Auston Matthews to get in on the points bonanza that Marner and William Nylander started would be even better.
Marner, by the way, has now written a visible ‘M’ on his stick for Miles after years of putting Z on his sticks and gloves for his beloved dog, Zeus.
“It’s a cool thing to see during games, when I look down in a game. It calms me, I take a deep breath, try and do my thing,” he said.
THIRD STAGE
That’s two third periods in this series where the Panthers have shown their Cup pedigree. They have four of their seven goals in that frame and had the Leafs on the ropes in the final minutes.
“They play quick, they don’t give you room and if (pucks) don’t get behind them, they’re going the other way,” Berube said. “The first five minutes of the third, we let them come at us (Anton Lundell scored), but after that we were pretty good. With their goalie out, they’re chucking everything at the net. That’s the way they play.
“The guys did a good job, competing, battling, blocking shots.”
Toronto got in front of 26 compared to eight by the Panthers. And defenceman Chris Tanev was labouring in the second half after a hard hit from Carter Verhaeghe.
TIT FOR TAT
A big part of these playoffs for Toronto is their quick response goals. Morgan Rielly’s in Game 1 came just 19 seconds after Seth Jones scored and that was duplicated Wednesday when Marner struck 17 ticks following Lundell’s tying marker. That’s rarely been a Leaf hallmark at this time of year.
“I’ve talked about it before. This is going to be a roller-coaster,” Marner said of the exchange. “We’re playing a hell of a hockey team that’s going to come at us with everything, especially if they’re (trailing).”
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