Mar 5, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) warms up before a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
If there's anything the Florida Panthers did exceedingly well in their Game 3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was how they put the puck into the offensive end.
Countless times on Friday night, Joseph Woll was out of his net playing the puck after a Florida dump-in. And there were good moments, with the goaltender getting it to a teammate or clearing it.
However, there were other junctures where he had the puck on his stick, which likely provided stress for the team's coaching staff and for sure Toronto's fans.
Thirty seconds into the third period, the Panthers threw the puck into Toronto's zone, and as Woll tried to corral it with his stick, it rolled right off the blade to the front of the net.
Anton Lundell was right there for the chance and almost scored. However, Woll got enough of his stick on it to deflect the puck away from the wide-open net.
"I thought that a lot of those rims, they're up. They're not on the ice. And that's designed If they can get a good lick on it, they're going to put it on the glass," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said the morning after their 5-4 overtime loss.
"It's pretty tough for him to come out and play those. He did get to a lot of them. They're coming hard, we know that. He's going to have to move [the puck] quick, make a decision quick and move it. That's the bottom line."
When Toronto had Anthony Stolarz in goal, they were a team that could catch the dump-in quickly before breaking it out almost like clockwork. It hasn't been quite the opposite with Woll in the net, but there have been some uneasy moments.
"They rim the puck a lot," said Woll on Friday night, "so I'm just trying to do my best to help us break out."
It's not all on Woll, though. Throughout this series, his teammates have spoken about how difficult it is to be thrown into the fire like Woll has. He's playing strong, and of course, there are goals against he'd like to have back, like Jonah Gadjovich's third-period tally.
Overall, it's not just on the goaltender when it comes to Florida's dump-ins.
"I think we all have to work together, talk to each other, come back quicker to make sure everybody has an option when they get the puck," Simon Benoit said Saturday morning. "They come hard. We'll be working on that."
It's not an easy position to be in, but the playoffs aren't going to get easier. It'll be up to Woll and the rest of the Maple Leafs to communicate better entering Game 4 in Florida on Sunday.
"I think he does a fine job with moving the puck. I think it's just better communication we're going to need to have. The center, the D, the wings, I think everyone just needs to communicate a little bit better and find a way out of the zone," Matthew Knies said.
"Especially when we get kind of hemmed in or it comes to an icing play when we're a little bit tired, I think we have to communicate better and just find a way to get it out of our zone."
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