Domi and Woll Lead the Way as Maple Leafs Avoid Elimination

My one negative comment about his performance was that he could have taken more shots. When he got a 2-on-1 with Bertuzzi, it was obvious he wasn’t going to shoot as he was looking at Bertuzzi the whole time while skating forward. He made Jeremy Swayman’s job much easier in that play.

No Samsonov? No Problem! Woll Took Over

Ilya Samsonov got the lion’s share of the work this season in Toronto, he was in the net for 40 games while Joseph Woll only manned the net for 25 games. Come playoff time, it was hardly surprising that Keefe decided to go with the veteran. After four games and facing elimination, the Maple Leafs needed a wake-up call, and they got it when the 25-year-old was given the net for this must-win duel.

While Samsonov had started the first four games of the series, Woll got a taste of the action when he was asked to replace the starter with over 17 minutes left to go in Game 4. The fact he allowed no goals must have been a good building block for his confidence and he looked dialed in last night.

Woll was able to keep his focus even though he only received two shots from the Bruins in the first frame. Allowing a goal in the first 20 minutes when he had received so few shots could have messed with his confidence, but it didn’t. If anything, the 2016 third-round pick looked more comfortable as the game went on. In the end, he was tested 28 times and was able to hold down the fort when the Bruins had the upper hand at the start of the overtime period. Without his performance, Matthew Knies never would have had the opportunity to score the game-winning goal. Something tells me we’ll see Woll again in Game 6.

No Home Ice? No Problem

I’m not sure what it is about Scotiabank Arena but I’ve rarely seen a home team get so little support from their fans. When the Maple Leafs are playing well, the building isn’t rocking, at times, you could almost hear a fly buzzing in there, but when they are struggling? Wow, that building becomes loud.

It takes a lot for the Toronto crowd to fully get behind their team. Maybe it’s the fact they’ve been waiting for a Stanley Cup for so long, that they don’t want to allow themselves to dream anymore. After all, one series win in eight years is hardly enough to win over the fans, especially when you’ve got a star-studded line-up, even if misconstrued.

This phenomenon is even more puzzling when you look at social media where the Maple Leafs often seem to be the team with the most support. Maybe, just maybe the fact that they went fearlessly to TD Garden on the brink of elimination without Matthews and lived to fight another day will be enough to get the crowd to cheer from the get-go on Thursday night when the series will be back in Scotiabank Arena. Or perhaps, Brendan Shanahan will call Ted Lasso to come give a motivational speech to make sure the players still believe…