{"id":551338,"date":"2026-03-21T14:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/551338\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T14:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:22:08","slug":"joseph-woll-looking-to-finish-strong-with-toronto-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/551338\/","title":{"rendered":"Joseph Woll looking to finish strong with Toronto Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 Joseph Woll<\/a> didn\u2019t expect to be in this position.<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs goaltender \u2014 like the rest of his teammates \u2014 thought the Original Six club would be in the thick of a playoff race down the stretch.<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s season all but lost after a disastrous stretch coming out of the Olympic break, Woll is doing what he can to build his game over the final weeks of a season that went completely off the rails.<\/p>\n

Woll made 32 saves in Friday\u2019s 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes<\/a>, including some huge stops against the relentless Eastern Conference leaders, but was beaten on a penalty shot and short-handed breakaway before Alexander Nikishin<\/a> ripped a puck home in the extra period.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old from Dardenne Prairie, Mo., who was away from the Maple Leafs for an extended period due to a \u201cpersonal family matter\u201d back in the fall, is 1-3-1 over his last five starts with a .914 save percentage for the disappointing Maple Leafs (29-28-13).<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether something\u2019s positive or negative, it\u2019s always a learning experience,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to stick to my process, but learn how to adjust it as necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs centre John Tavares<\/a> said Woll has remained steadfast in his approach and preparation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want your game to be your game,\u201d said the 35-year-old, who scored his 24th goal of a lost campaign Friday. \u201cYou want to keep building and contributing to the team and help us get better results, and feel good about what we\u2019re trying to work through and try to build some momentum. <\/p>\n

\u201c(Woll) doesn\u2019t try to change a whole lot and continuously works at things \u2026 it\u2019s maybe not always just overnight, but you start to build things, and your game starts to come together. Giving us great opportunities to win games.\u201d <\/p>\n

Maple Leafs centre Benoit-Olivier Groux, making the most of his call-up from the American Hockey League with five points in six NHL games, said the netminder has given the group a chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been unreal,\u201d Groulx said. \u201cI\u2019ve watched pretty much all the games this season. He\u2019s been really good throughout the season. He\u2019s really dialed in off the ice, he does every little thing right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto head coach Craig Berube<\/a> said Woll, who dropped to 14-13-5 in 2025-26 and has got call in five of the team\u2019s last six games over crease mate Anthony Stolarz<\/a>, can get to another level.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Against the Hurricanes) we need a save,\u201d Berube said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s (in) OT or it\u2019s one of the breakaways, just need a big save there.\u201d <\/p>\n

Woll, meanwhile, will look at Friday\u2019s tape with goaltending coach Curtis Sanford<\/a>, especially Eric Robinson<\/a>\u2019s penalty shot and K\u2019Andre Miller\u2019s short-handed effort, but is fine with his recent performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust hoping to play as much as I can and do whatever I can to help the team win,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd with that, learn as much as possible.\u201d <\/p>\n

PLAYING OUT THE STRING<\/p>\n

Tavares is one goal shy of becoming the fourth active player with at least 25 or more in 14 seasons behind only Alex Ovechkin<\/a> (20), Sidney Crosby<\/a> (16) and Steven Stamkos<\/a> (15). <\/p>\n

The veteran forward was asked about his approach with Toronto languishing near the bottom of the standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re getting an opportunity to play in the National Hockey League \u2026 you never take it for granted,\u201d Tavares said. \u201cYou want to go out there and play well. It\u2019s obviously been tough sledding.\u201d <\/p>\n

TAKING HIS CHANCE<\/p>\n

Selected with the 54th pick at the 2018 draft by the Anaheim Ducks<\/a>, Groulx now has three goals and two assists with the Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old had just one goal and five points in 65 games across parts of three seasons with Anaheim before signing with Toronto last summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m approaching it pretty well, with a lot of confidence,\u201d Groulx, who put up 50 points in 54 AHL games in 2025-26, said of his time with the Maple Leafs. \u201cI know what I can do at this level, and I think I\u2019m showing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tavares said Groulx\u2019s hockey IQ serves him well.<\/p>\n

\u201cA real good sense of where to be and getting the puck in good spots,\u201d he said. \u201cNot trying to overcomplicate things, just take the plays that are there. He\u2019s got some good legs and a really good release.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s capitalizing on the opportunity here.\u201d <\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2026.<\/p>\n

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 Joseph Woll didn\u2019t expect to be in this position. The Maple Leafs goaltender \u2014 like the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,82,3302],"class_list":["post-551338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}