Joseph Woll to start Game 5 against Florida Panthers
The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that Joseph Woll will start Game 5 against the Florida Panthers in favor of Ilya Samsonov once again.
Joseph Woll will start Game 5, per Sheldon Keefe.
Ilya Samsonov (upper-body injury) remains unavailable.#leafs
Samsonov was injured during game three of the second-round series between the Panthers and Maple Leafs and doesn’t have a clear return timeline. In the two games since Woll entered the crease in relief, he has a 1-0-1 record with a 2.45 GAA and .902 SV%.
Woll allowed three goals on 21 shots against during the Leafs’ game four overtime loss. He quickly rebounded, turning away 24 of 25 shots in his team’s critical 2-1 victory over the Panthers.
The Maple Leafs went into this season with an Ilya Samsonov/Matt Murray tandem which was supposed to provide above-average goaltending in both the regular season and the playoffs. Samsonov was great in the regular season, but injuries hampered Murray and only ended up playing 26 games for the team.
Woll had played a four-game stint in Toronto during the 2021-22 season. He earned a record of 3-1-0 with 2.76 GAA and .911 SV% — certainly a promising showing, albeit with a small sample size. With Murray down most of the season with injuries, Woll was called upon to make seven starts for the Maple Leafs. He excelled once again in the task he was afforded.
In seven regular season games, Woll went 6-1-0 with a 2.16 GAA and .932%. He has played most of the last four seasons with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, serving as the team’s starter this season before getting called upon by the big club. His save percentage rose annually from .880 to .892 to .907 and finally to .927 this season.
The Dardenne Prairie, Missouri native hasn’t looked nervous or inexperienced in his playoff stint with the Maple Leafs and they’re betting on him to help keep the team alive while Samsonov and Murray are out.