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Leafs Goalie Joseph Woll Admits to Using Matthew Knies Injury as Motivation to Stick it to Vegas

Originally posted on Maple Leafs Daily | By TJ Tucker | Last updated Nov 21, 2024 12:53 PM ET

Maple Leafs netminder Joseph Woll revealed following his first shutout of the season that he was motivated to beat Vegas after the Matthew Knies injury.

A big win over the Vegas Golden Knights last night was somewhat overshadowed by a big hit that knocked Matthew Knies out of the game.

The hit came in the second period with the Leafs up 1-0. Officials initially called a major penalty on Zach Whitecloud, which likely would have ended his night had the penalty stood, but then rescinded the major after a brief review, calling the hit 'clean'.

Kines did not return to the game, and Toronto would go on to win 3-0, giving goaltender Joseph Woll the motivation he needed to register his first shutout of the season.

While it was a great moment for Woll, he said after the game that he was not happy with the hit on his teammate.

'It's not a good thing that he's hurt, but it definitely sparks some energy with the team. I think sometimes anger and those things can be used to drive you through a game. So, I was just happy to see us shut him down after something like that.
It's energy for sure. I was pretty pissed after it, so I tried to harness that as well as I could.'

Knies was forced into concussion protocol following the hit from Whitecloud and did not return to the game.

Leafs head coach Craig Berube didn't like the hit at all, but was cautious in talking about it for fear of reprisal from the league.

I'm sure the entire team is much more worried about Knies' overall health than with picking up the win in a regular season game, but the silver-lining is that they did rally and get the win on his behalf.

This article first appeared on Maple Leafs Daily and was syndicated with permission.

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