The Toronto Maple Leafs were forced to rely upon third string goaltender Joseph Woll during their Round 2 Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Florida Panthers after starter Ilya Samsonov was felled by an upper body injury in Game 3.
Woll performed about as well as anyone could have possibly expected of him, helping Toronto to a Game 4 win to keep their season alive while also performing well in the fateful Game 5 that would ultimately be won by the Panthers.
And following Nick Cousin's beating Woll with a wrist shot in overtime of the fateful Game 5, it was forward Auston Matthews who was seen spending several minutes with the young goaltender. Needless to say, Woll was appreciative of what his teammate had to say.
"Just positive things," Woll said of his postgame conversation with Matthews. "Maybe I'll keep the specifics between us, but I think he's coming together as a leader, and just his ability to pick people up is nice."
Right now, the Leafs have more than a few decisions to make with regards to personnel not only on the ice but in the front office for who comes back next season. Both Samsonov and Matt Murray are pending unrestricted free agents, while Woll is under contract with the organization for another two years with a cap hit of under $1 million.
We certainly wouldn't be surprised to see Woll promoted to the full-time backup position based on his play down the stretch for the Leafs in the regular season and playoffs that also saw him write a bit of team history by winning 10 of his first 12 games.
