Woll praises Maple Leafs’ effort after his first playoff shutout: ‘Our best game of the series’

After a blowout loss in Game 5, there were concerns of how the Toronto Maple Leafs would respond Friday night facing elimination. But in the end, they were able to come up with a brick Woll.

Toronto blanked the Florida Panthers 2-0 in Game 6, earning Joseph Woll his first career playoff shutout, just one game after he was pulled. They are now set to face off in a do-or-die contest Sunday night.

Speaking after the game to Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas, Toronto’s netminder talked about the faith he has in the team in front of him in the face of adversity.

“The biggest thing I’m feeling right now is just a lot of confidence in our group,” Woll said. “Backs against the wall, we came out and played our best game of the series. And played structured, really prioritized defence.”

Following up on such a tough loss with all its intense media scrutiny is no easy feat, especially while facing the prospect of elimination. Woll spoke about the mental resiliency you build through the regular season in bouncing back from losses, and shared the work he’s done to stay grounded in facing big moments like this one.

“It’s a lot of work that goes into just being where you are,” he said. “It might sound kind of contradictory, but you have to get out of your way … Myself and for my team, I thought we did a good job of blocking out those distractions and just coming to get the job done.”

Speaking to media after the game, captain Auston Matthews credited the team’s “gutsy” performance led by Woll’s strong play, with Bobby McMann adding on to the praise in his own presser.

“Just the fact that we weren’t worried about him for one second,” McMann said. “He was just solid all the way through. Square to pucks, on rebounds, sliding across for back doors, he was all over it tonight.”

A cheerleader for Woll throughout the series, veteran forward Max Pacioretty talked about what he’s done for the team in stepping in for the injured Anthony Stolarz.

“So much composure,” Pacioretty said. “We talked about how he came into the situation in a really tough position … and many people have spoken about the work he’s put in. And that’s why guys like that get rewarded.”

Provided nothing changes with regards to Stolarz’s status, Woll is now set to get his first career Game 7 start, after he sat last year’s do-or-die contest against the Boston Bruins out with an undisclosed injury.

“It sucked not being able to play last year for sure,” Woll said. “I think this is just a pretty special opportunity for our team. I think we feel good going in and we know our process and we’re just gonna take that through.”

The series now shifts back to Toronto, with Game 7 set for Sunday night from Scotiabank Arena.