TORONTO – Joseph Woll stepped confidently into the centre of the largest group of reporters that have been in the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room all season, sporting the same ratty, worn-down grey tank top he’s worn postgame all season.
The spotlight isn’t a place the Leafs goalie has inhabited much lately. He last started in a meaningless regular-season finale on April 17 against the languishing Detroit Red Wings. But even as Anthony Stolarz has taken the reins as the Leafs’ starting goaltender through the playoffs, Woll has remained the same thoughtful, pensive and, most importantly, talented goalie he’s been all season.
And after a 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of their second-round series, the Leafs are about to find out whether they’re going to need the same Woll who provided steady saves all season long.
Stolarz left Game 1 minutes after taking an unpenalized elbow to the head from Panthers forward Sam Bennett. Shortly before leaving the game, he was seen vomiting on the Leafs bench. While coach Craig Berube and the Leafs would only say that Stolarz was “under evaluation,” The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported Stolarz was taken to the hospital for that evaluation.
The departure casts doubt over Stolarz’s short-term availability for the Leafs and promises to push Woll back into the spotlight. Woll stopped 17 of 20 shots after coming in on short notice.
“It’s no shock to the guys in the locker room how (Woll) can step in and bring us a win,” Matthew Knies said. “I think he’s been an incredible goalie — he’s stepped up every time we’ve asked him to.”
The Leafs went into this season wanting to roll with a true tandem. They believed in Woll but wanted to provide him with veteran support considering he had just 34 NHL starts to his name prior to October.
In hindsight, planning to go into a season with two quality goaltenders now feels like Brad Treliving’s most important off-season move.
The extent of Stolarz’s injury is still unknown, and right now, it feels like how Woll repays the Leafs’ belief in him could end up deciding this series.
Woll posted a .909 save percentage through 42 games this season, a career high. But whatever happens in the short term as the Leafs’ goaltending situation goes through a dramatic turn could end up trumping every game he played through the regular season.
Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll combined for a formidable tandem in the Leafs’ net during the regular season. (James Guillory / Imagn Images)
First, on Stolarz: What we know is that the goalie looked dazed after the Bennett hit. He immediately removed his helmet and blinked multiple times, looking to gain his focus. Stolarz skated to the Leafs bench during a stoppage in play and had a brief conversation with head athletic therapist Paul Ayotte. He returned to the game. Minutes later, during another stoppage, Stolarz skated back to the Leafs bench and vomited. He was then pulled from the game.
Stolarz had also taken a Sam Reinhart shot to his mask in the first period, which caused his mask to fall off.
That Stolarz had to travel to hospital for evaluation suggests a heightened level of seriousness to his injury. There is nothing to suggest what occurred in Game 1 is connected to any of Stolarz’s past injuries; the Leafs will simply want to exercise caution, as they should.
Enter Woll.
As Stolarz dominated the Ottawa Senators in Games 1 and 2 of the first round and then found his game again in Game 6, it felt unlikely we would see much of Woll against the Panthers. But away from Scotiabank Arena, Woll has remained focused on returning to game action whenever called upon. Staying ready and focused helped Woll come into the game and stop a few quick Panthers shots from the slot with virtually no warmup.
“I haven’t really changed much in terms of my mindset and my habits,” Woll said.
What he’s done behind the scenes could help him and the Leafs as the series against the Panthers goes on. This season, Woll believes he’s improved his preparation on and off the ice.
He’s approached takeaways from losses in a way he hasn’t in past seasons. If Woll continues to be called upon throughout a series that promises to be back-and-forth, those lessons could help him.
“In the moment they suck, they really suck, but the worst games I’ve had this year have by far been the biggest learning, and some of the best learning and the most necessary learning that I’ve had,” Woll told The Athletic in April. “So when I look back in hindsight like in the moment, it feels like everything, but in hindsight it’s just a game. You realize that sometimes those (losses) present absolutely necessary things that I don’t know if I would have learned without them.”
In a stark contrast to Stolarz’s demanding and commanding presence, Woll believes he’s at his best when he’s reflective. He has journaled more than ever this season, especially after games.
After the Leafs’ final practice before the series against the Panthers began, Woll did what he often does. He visited Leafs consultant Sally Belanger, who specializes in neuromuscular recruitment.
Belanger has helped Woll understand how to optimize which muscles are and aren’t working during a game and how to best use his movements. All season long, with Belanger’s help, Woll has tried to improve his training habits. Woll and the Leafs wanted to avoid the kind of injuries that kept him out of Game 7 against the Bruins last year.
Joseph Woll almost doubled his previous career high in games started this season, thanks in part to adjusting his preparation in the offseason. (Claus Andersen / Getty Images)
There’s plenty to consider surrounding Woll as the possible Leafs starter moving forward. Was the fact that he allowed three goals on 20 shots in Game 1, not looking fully in control, due to coming in cold? Or a harbinger of things to come?
“It’s a tough situation, for sure, especially in a playoff game of this magnitude. (Woll) handled it well. Listen, we got the win,” Berube said.
Big picture, Woll and the Leafs should feel buoyed by his past playoff performances. He’s proven to be dependable – when he stays on the ice – in relief through the past two postseasons. Woll ripped off a .915 save percentage through four games in 2023 after Ilya Samsonov suffered an injury. He then took over for Samsonov after he faltered against the Bruins in 2024 and propelled the Leafs late in the series with a .964 save percentage.
“We have all the faith in the world in (Joseph Woll),” Morgan Rielly said.
But Woll did miss Game 7 in 2024 with an injury sustained late in Game 6. Woll’s own lengthy history of injuries could lead to some trepidation over what he may or may not be able to provide against the Panthers.
His results this season suggest that if he provides the same goaltending he did through the regular season, the Leafs could be in good shape against the Panthers. His save percentage was tied for 10th among goalies with at least 30 starts, after all. A hair better than Sergei Bobrovsky’s .906 save percentage, it should be noted.
But which Woll will emerge through the rest of the series: that Woll, who was both athletic and composed at his best, or the one who succumbed to an injury in Game 7? There will be few more pressing questions facing the Leafs as the series continues.
(Top photo of Joseph Woll and John Tavares in Game 1: John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)