BOSTON — Joseph Woll knew he wasn’t getting the nod for Game 1 of the playoffs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had clearly been trending towards Ilya Samsonov late in the regular season, including a week of rest for the goaltender ahead of the Stanley Cup chase.
Woll didn’t pout or show any disappointment at getting passed over. He simply kept his head down and continued on the same regimented path.
“It was really obvious to me that he was going to just continue to work,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of the rookie. “And prepare as though he was playing.”
Woll got that chance in a hostile environment Tuesday with his team facing elimination — a situation he experienced some 12 months ago.
The calm, cool 25-year-old didn’t flinch. Now the Leafs have life.
Woll made 27 saves in his first start in more than two weeks in Toronto’s 2-1 overtime victory that cut the Boston Bruins‘ lead to 3-2 in the teams’ best-of-seven series.
“He’s unbelievable,” Leafs forward Max Domi, who stepped into the No. 1 centre spot with Auston Matthews unavailable, said of the netminder. “He’s been sitting around for a while. Shows how mature he is and the presence that he brings when he steps in between the pipes.”
Game 6 of the first-round matchup goes Thursday in Toronto at Scotiabank Arena. Game 7, if necessary, would be Saturday back at Boston’s TD Garden.
Woll got a taste of NHL playoff action in last spring’s second round after Samsonov was injured against the Florida Panthers. He made three appearances in that series, including a victory in Game 4 on the road before Toronto lost Game 5 in OT at home.
“That experience last year definitely helped,” said Woll, who made a huge third-period stop on former junior teammate Trent Frederic before adding five more saves in Tuesday’s extra period. “I felt more comfortable coming into the situation. Each time you get a little more experience, and you learn from your mistakes.”
Woll’s second career victory in an elimination game tied him with Gord McRae, Felix Potvin and John Ross Roach for the most by a rookie in franchise history.
“I feel pretty safe when he’s in net,” fellow freshman Matthew Knies said after scoring Tuesday’s winner at 2:26 of OT. “I trust him a lot.”
Drafted by the Leafs in the third round of the 2016 draft — the same year they took Matthews with the No. 1 pick — Woll spent three seasons at Boston College in the NCAA before turning pro and signing with Toronto in 2019.
Despite being in enemy territory Tuesday at TD Garden, the piano-playing goalie felt at home on a sheet of ice he knows well.
“I’m having the time of my life out there,” said Woll, who grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Dardenne Prairie. “A place I’ve played a lot of big games. To come in here and play the Bruins in an elimination game is pretty special.”
Woll started 2023-24 strong with an 8-5-1 record and a .916 save percentage before suffering a high ankle sprain that sidelined him exactly 12 weeks.
His numbers weren’t nearly as good after returning to action Feb. 29 — 4-6-0 with an .890 save percentage as Toronto leaned on Samsonov down the stretch — but the process and routine remained the same.
“He works really hard,” Keefe said. “He fought through a tough injury that derailed what was a tremendous season to that point.
“But he stayed with it.”
And now his Leafs have a pulse.
DOMI STEPS UP
The son of Tie Domi — a fan favourite in Toronto from 1995 through 2006 — filled some massive shoes with Matthews ruled out Tuesday after also being pulled from Game 4 with an illness.
The 29-year-old Domi helped set up the Leafs’ first goal, played almost 19 minutes between Mitch Marner and Tyler Bertuzzi, and won 12-of-14 faceoffs.
“(Domi) did a really good job of ensuring that line didn’t have to spend a lot of time in our end,” Keefe said. “Our start to the game has to begin with a forecheck, has to begin with work and competing. That’s the playoffs. That’s what this series certainly demands.
“Credit to Max.”
SEED OF DOUBT
Boston blew a 3-1 lead against Florida in last year’s opening round before losing in seven games. The Leafs still have a mountain to climb, but forced the Bruins to board a Wednesday flight they had hoped to avoid.
“As difficult as this one was here (Tuesday), the next one’s going to be even harder,” Keefe said. “You got their attention.”
Toronto will look to secure its first playoff win at Scotiabank Arena since Game 2 of last year’s series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday — a stretch of seven straight losses.
“Haven’t been good on home ice,” Keefe said. “We’ve earned ourselves another opportunity to fix that.”
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
