Woll made 28 saves on 30 shots, including getting his stick on a puck that took an odd bounce off the boards.
CALGARY — The Toronto Maple Leafs hung on to defeat the Calgary Flames 4-2 to help pull off back-to-back victories since January 10 and 12 when they defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-0 and the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in overtime.
But things almost went south.
The Leafs jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Flames battled back to cut the lead down to 3-2. The Flames pressed in the third period for an equalizer and appeared to have it when a dump-in by Calgary took a weird bounce off the boards in front of an open net for Calgary’s Adam Klapka.
Miraculously, Woll managed to scurry back and enough of his stick on Klapka’s shot, sending the puck over top of the net.
“I hope they credit me with a shot,” Woll said of the save. “I don't even know what happened. I just dove, and thank God, you know, it didn't go in. But, yeah, that was really, you know, their only, I think, kind of big chance in the third. So, again, you know, just a great job by our team.”
Woll made 28 saves on 30 shots for the second consecutive game and has been giving the Leafs the type of goaltending they need to keep their slim playoff chances alive.
“Since I've been here, he's been phenomenal and he gives us a chance to win every night,” Maple Leafs defenseman Troy Stecher said of Woll. “He did it again tonight, it could have easily been 5-3 the other way with a couple of those bounces, so we owe him a lot for that game.”
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube was impressed with Woll’s game beyond the diving save.
“He had to make some diving saves and second and third effort saves with some of these bounces that went on,” Berube said. “But, yeah, so he was solid tonight for us.”
Woll’s .910 save percentage through 25 games is slightly better than the .909 he posted last season. If he can stay healthy and available, Woll’s solid run of games will be essential for Toronto having any chance at narrowing the gap for the playoffs.
The Leafs moved to seven points back of the second wild card spot following the win against the Flames.