Two veteran Leafs believe the team has an elite goalie in the making
Thrusted into a very tough situation during his rookie season, Joseph Woll had the world on his shoulders as he was placed between the pipes with the series and the season on the line. With Ilya Samsonov nursing an injury and Matt Murray not really being an option, Woll did an admirable job and helped the Toronto Maple Leafs force a Game 5 on home ice in Toronto on Friday night.
When asked about Samsonov's injury update, Sheldon Keefe had this to say on Thursday:
Joseph Woll was happy for the start but he was even happier with how the team played in front of him and how they sacrificed the body when they needed to shut things down late in the third:
Timothy Liljegren knows a thing or two about Woll from their time in the minors and he couldn't be any happier for friend and teammate:
As for the Stanley Cup winning veteran with a Conn Smythe to his name, Ryan O'Reilly had a lot of praise for the rookie:
Woll has even put himself on captain John Tavares' radar in terms of some of the more elite aspects of his game. Usually when guys talk about goalies having some elite qualities - especially veteran guys - it's pretty eye-opening. Tavares is a guy who scores a lot of goals in tight and on high tips. He's been pleasantly surprised with how focused Woll has been since coming in.
Woll has been nothing short of spectacular this season with his 16-4-1 record with the Toronto Marlies where he also posted a .927 SV% but then also going 6-1-0 at the NHL level with an even better .932 SV% is amazing. He stepped up big with the season on the line and he will have another shot at extending the series tonight in Game 5 in Toronto.
| POLL | ||
12 MAI | 825 ANSWERS Two veteran Leafs believe the team has an elite goalie in the making Do you think Joseph Woll has a shot at becoming an elite, top 5 NHL goalie? | ||
| Yes | 617 | 74.8 % |
| No | 36 | 4.4 % |
| Anything is possible | 172 | 20.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
