Woll stopped 25 of 28 shots in his second game of a conditioning loan with the Marlies on Wednesday afternoon.
After two games with the AHL's Toronto Marlies on a conditioning loan, when could Joseph Woll return to the Toronto Maple Leafs?
"We'll see how that (game) goes and get him back maybe with us," said Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube on Tuesday morning. "We'll see."
The 27-year-old appeared in his second game with the Marlies on Wednesday afternoon in a school-day game against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Woll stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faced in the game and looked strong in what was an overtime loss.
Woll couldn't do much on the three goals that beat him, either.
Early in the game, the netminder's athleticism was tested. Former Maple Leaf Erik Gustafsson had a chance just after the five-minute mark, but Woll was able to get across and make the stop. He looked like he hadn't missed a beat in the net despite being away from the Maple Leafs for personal reasons.
The Griffins' first goal was off a breakaway from Sheldon Dries, who snuck behind the Marlies' defense. The 31-year-old bolted down on the left side before shifting to the right and putting a backhand over the shoulder of Woll. It was the Griffins' fifth shot of the game.
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CLASS IS IN SESSION 🫡
Following the goal, Woll wasn't tested much for the remainder of the first period. There was one shot that came on the Griffins' power play late in the opening frame, which Woll made a save on, before the Marlies put pressure on Grand Rapids.
Woll faced his first shot of the second period five minutes in. Toronto then went to the penalty kill, where Woll had to come up big on a shot from Austin Watson.
After the Marlies scored two straight goals, they went to the penalty kill once again. This time, Watson capitalized on his opportunity after an Amadeus Lombardi shot deflected off Henry Thrun's stick and bounced off Woll's pad right to the Griffins' forward.
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The old man still got it 👍
Woll wasn't tested much more until the final minutes of the second period. His best save of the day came off a Dries cross-crease shot. Woll reached across to get the blocker out to make the save, before making a few more key stops after to keep the game tied at two apiece.
The Griffins registered their most shots in the third period with 11, but Woll stopped them all. Unfortunately, he couldn't get the win after Lombardi squeaked a shot through Woll's five-hole in overtime.
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ALEXA PLAY ROCK ME AMADEUS ‼️🚨
Overall, everything from the goaltender's movement, tracking, positioning, and speed in the crease looked strong on Wednesday afternoon. He appeared confident in the net, too, which is a positive sign after how long he was away from the Maple Leafs.
We'll likely see him sooner rather than later in the NHL, especially after Anthony Stolarz picked up an upper-body injury (which head coach Craig Berube believes isn't serious) in Toronto's 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
Woll played a total of 96:48 in his two starts with the Marlies. He stopped 46 of the 52 shots he faced over the game-and-a-half he played, finishing his AHL conditioning with an .885 save percentage.
"I thought he looked really good," Marlies head coach John Gruden told reporters after Woll's first game with the club on Saturday, where he stopped 21 of 24 shots through 36:09. "I thought he played extremely well. He made some big saves when he needed to. He’s a really good goalie and a great guy."
The Maple Leafs play on Thursday at home against the L.A. Kings before heading to Chicago for a matchup on Saturday night versus the Blackhawks.
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