Joseph Woll discusses tight game, early penalties after stellar performance in Game 4 loss

We officially have a battle of the goaltenders once again.

The Florida Panthers evened the series at two apiece Sunday, blanking the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0. Sergei Bobrovsky earned his fifth career playoff shutout in the win, but the discussion in Toronto will be centred around the performance of Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll, who had his best game of the playoffs so far in a losing effort.

Woll held the Panthers to just one goal through the opening two periods before conceding a second midway through the third frame, as the Panthers were relentless in their offensive pursuits. The 26-year-old finished with 35 saves and a .946 save percentage, keeping Toronto in it as long as he could. Unfortunately his efforts were for naught, as the team in front of him failed to provide any goal support.

“They played a pretty tight defensive game, Bob played really well,” Woll said after Sunday’s loss. “I really liked the way that we played and kept our structure, and I think we played pretty well in the third period and took it to [Bobrovsky] pretty good and, you know, just couldn’t score.”

And that’s what it comes down to. Despite a spectacular effort from Woll, the Leafs were unable to capitalize offensively. Still, Toronto’s netminder credited his group’s defensive work in supporting his efforts between the pipes, especially in the first period where the Panthers had four chances on the man advantage.

“I think the defence helped me weather the storm a couple times early in the game,” Woll said. “Especially in the first period with those kills, I think we did a great job almost killing off four in a row there.”

Florida is the first team this postseason to get four power plays in the first period. While four consecutive penalties is a nightmare way to start a playoff game, Woll, the eternal optimist, shared the good he was able to take away from it through the rest of the game.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” Woll said. “From one standpoint it gets you in the game pretty quick, and it’s nice to see some pucks. At the same time, I think to be able to get two kills in a row is good momentum.”

Despite the loss, it’s promising to see Woll looking more like his playoff self of last season, where he won both his starts, and finished with a 0.86 GAA and a .964 SV% through his three total appearances.

Anthony Stolarz is reportedly recovering well, but has still yet to skate, meaning Woll will likely be the starter for the foreseeable future. If Woll can continue to play how he did Sunday night, all the Leafs will need is their offence to bounce back as they return home and try to grab hold of this series once again.