Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett, right, scores on Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll during the third period of Game 4 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series, on May 11, in Sunrise, Fla.Michael Laughlin/The Associated Press
In sporting circles, Noel and Liam Gallagher might be more famous as diehard fans of English soccer club Manchester City, but one of the Oasis duo’s most memorable hits has added impetus to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ run through this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs.
While the obvious choice for a team bemoaning 58 years of missed opportunities and bitter endings might be Don’t Look Back in Anger, the song in question has lent itself to a popular chant in tribute to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ current starting goaltender: Joseph (Wonder) Woll.
“[Teammate Matthew Knies] was showing me that the other day,” he said Tuesday of the social media videos doing the rounds with fans substituting in his name in their renditions of Wonderwall. “It’s nice. There’s a nice little ring to it.”
Of course, Woll and the rest of the Maple Leafs are hoping for a larger, gaudier kind of ring this spring, but first they will have to regain the upper hand against the Florida Panthers if they are to get anywhere close to it.
Halfway to the Eastern Conference final when the team flew south before the weekend, the Leafs’ second-round series is now knotted at 2-2 after a couple of narrow defeats in Sunrise, Fla., setting up a pivotal Game 5 in Toronto on Wednesday.
Of course, if it wasn’t for Woll, those defeats might have been anything but narrow, with the 26-year-old saving 66 of the 73 shots he faced over the two games. In Sunday’s Game 4 in particular, he was outstanding, keeping the Leafs within a goal of taking the game to overtime right up until the midway point of the third period, when Sam Bennett added an insurance marker for the Panthers.
But while much of Leafs Nation might be fretting over allowing the defending Stanley Cup champions off the mat – particularly given the Leafs missed the chance for a 3-0 series stranglehold with Game 3’s overtime loss – Woll is calmness personified.
He described leaning into the process that the Leafs have used all year to respond to adversity, which is found in the consistency of doing the right things day-in, day-out; a process which ultimately allowed them to claim the Atlantic Division title and the accompanying home-ice advantage in this series.
“I think you fall back to some famous quotes: you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall back to the level of your training,” the goalie said. “And I think that’s really what the process is about, right? Falling back to what you’ve done all year and what you’ve built up to all year, and we have a lot of confidence in that.”
Not that Woll is entirely beyond emotion in this situation. While goaltenders are supposed to be stoic, the Leafs’ piano-playing netminder admits that, despite five wins in seven playoff starts and a .915 postseason save percentage – higher than his .910 regular-season mark – he gets nervous, too.
“I think that nerves are part of it,” he said. “That’s part of doing anything worth doing . . . is a little bit of fear. And I think that’s healthy and that’s good, but at the same time, we’re ready to go.”
Woll and the entire team got an emotional lift Tuesday in practice, as No. 1 goaltender Anthony Stolarz made his way back on the ice for the first time since suffering an undisclosed injury in Game 1 of the series. Stolarz worked with goaltending coach Curtis Sanford before the optional workout, taking shots and going through some drills, but head coach Craig Berube said he didn’t know when Stolarz would return to the lineup.
What Berube does know is that the Panthers have been a different team the past two games, skating in their own barn. He admitted that he saw a team that was heavier on the forecheck and one less willing to give up space.
“That definitely changed, in my opinion,” he said. “When we went back for Game 3, it’s like pucks are going in deep and [the Panthers are] coming.”
After getting shut out for the second time this playoffs on Sunday, Berube has considered shaking up his lines in a bid for offence, but what would also go a long way to helping the Leafs’ cause is staying out of the penalty box, with Florida going 1-for-6 on the resulting power plays.
“We talked about that today,” he said. “We can’t go to the box that many times, especially four in the first period. It takes your momentum away, takes certain guys out of the rhythm on the bench and overusing other guys. So it’s not a good recipe.”
Max Domi, who started that parade to the box with a high stick on Matthew Tkachuk just two minutes into Game 4, was hit with a US$5,000 fine by the NHL on Monday for his hit from behind on Aleksander Barkov just after the final buzzer.
While some commentators – including former NHLers Blake Wheeler and Kevin Bieksa on the Sportsnet panel – have praised the action as showing that he and the Leafs won’t go down without a fight, Domi refused to get into it.
“Game 4 is behind us. Game 3 is behind us. So we’re just looking forward to Game 5, as far as we’re concerned,” he said. “So one shift at a time, and now it’s best two out of three.”