Woll’s 24 saves help Leafs avoid elimination in G4
SUNRISE, Fla. — There was an unintentional assist from one of the referees. There was a nearly flawless performance from a rookie goalie making his first playoff start. And there was no sense of panic.
Toronto is going home — for another game, not to start the offseason.
Joseph Woll stopped 24 shots in his first playoff start, Mitch Marner and William Nylander had the goals and the Maple Leafs staved off elimination by beating the Florida Panthers 2-1 in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Wednesday night.
“It was a pretty awesome game to get put into,” Woll said.
Another pretty awesome chance awaits Friday, when Game 5 will be on Toronto’s ice.
Sam Reinhart scored for Florida, which got 23 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. The Panthers still lead the series 3-1, though their franchise playoff-record six-game winning streak is now over.
“We lost a game today. That happens in the playoffs,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “We’re good. We’re OK. We get to play the next one. I think we’re all good with that. It wasn’t so fabulous a win that they’re not going to let us play the next one.”
Nylander was the beneficiary of an odd bounce for a power-play score in the second period, Marner scored midway through the third and Woll did the rest as he took the place of injured starter Ilya Samsonov.
Woll, who turns 25 on July 12, was bidding to become the youngest Toronto goalie to have a playoff shutout since Felix Potvin — then 23 — stopped 42 shots to beat Chicago 3-0 on May 9, 1995.
He was 7:47 away from pulling it off.
Reinhart — who had the OT winner in Game 3 — took a quick pass from Matthew Tkachuk and found a way to just get the puck through Woll’s leg pads for a power-play score, cutting Toronto’s lead to 2-1. The Leafs called their time-out immediately after the goal, just to calm everyone down.
“I thought we were playing a really good period to that point,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It really was to give our guys a breath. … I didn’t have to say much.”
Woll didn’t have to do the job alone, either. Toronto blocked 21 shots as a team.
“We’re just going to keep fighting,” Leafs forward John Tavares said.
Nylander’s surname is pronounced KNEE-lander, which seemed fitting on the opening goal.
Toronto went more than five full periods — 107 minutes and 46 seconds, to be exact, going back to late in the second period of Game 2 — without a power play until Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen got called for high-sticking the Leafs’ Michael Bunting early in the second period.
And they cashed in, thanks to the hockey gods who oversee crazy bounces.
Bunting tried dumping the puck around the net from the right-wing boards, only to have it bounce off the knee of referee Jon McIsaac as he tried to get out of the way. It skipped to the front of the net, where Nylander knocked it past Bobrovsky for a 1-0 Toronto lead.
“A bit unlucky bounce, but it is what it is,” Bobrovsky said. “Again, I thought we had a good game. We compete. We fight. We played a solid defensive game. They are a good team as well, so that’s the score tonight.”
It was the first goal of the series for Toronto’s big four players of Nylander, Auston Matthews, Tavares and Marner.
“It’s not going to get easier,” Nylander said.
The score stayed 1-0 going into the third, though Toronto had a big chance to go up two in the final seconds of the second period. Tavares got loose down the center of the ice on a breakaway, but Bobrovsky knocked away his attempt to the stick side to keep Florida within one.
Marner made it 2-0 with 9:57 left, and the Leafs held on. They haven’t been swept in a playoff series since 1980 — a best-of-five against the Minnesota North Stars — and not in a best-of-seven since Montreal ousted them in four games in 1979.
“We were right there to the end,” Florida forward Sam Bennett said. “And that’s playoff hockey.”
Tyler Johnson has announced his retirement after playing 13 NHL seasons and winning the Stanley Cup twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Johnson called it a career in a lengthy message posted on social media Monday. Johnson had battled injuries in recent years and is set to turn 35 on July 29.
“As a short kid from a small town, I saw my chances of playing in the NHL as very slim,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “But my family — my parents, Ken and Debbie, and my grandparents — believed in me when doubt clouded my mind. Their unwavering faith turned that dream into reality.”
Listed at 5-foot-8 and 191 pounds, Johnson won at just about ever level, capturing the Western Hockey League and Memorial Cup championships in 2008 with his hometown Spokane Chiefs and the Calder Cup championship with Norfolk of the American Hockey League in 2012.
The NHL brought more success, as he skated in 863 regular-season and playoff games since debuting in the league in 2013, putting up 498 points. Johnson was part of the Lightning’s core when they reached the final in 2015 and helped them hoist the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21.
Johnson finished with Chicago, playing three seasons with the Blackhawks, and Boston, signing with the Bruins early last season following his training camp tryout.
“After a lifetime devoted to hockey, I’m ready for what’s next,” Johnson said. “This moment is bittersweet, but I leave the game with no regrets.”
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Mammoth re-signed center Jack McBain to a five-year contract worth $21.25 million on Monday.
McBain will count $4.25 million against the salary cap through the 2029-30 NHL season, which was announced a little more than 24 hours since the team elected salary arbitration with the restricted free agent forward.
“He is a big, strong, physical player who competes hard on a nightly basis and brings a gritty toughness to our group,” general manager Bill Armstrong said. “Jack is an important part of the championship-caliber team we are building, and we look forward to having him back on our roster for the foreseeable future.”
McBain, 25, is coming off setting a career high with 27 points and playing all 82 games. He was one of six players to skate in every game of the organization’s first season in Salt Lake City.
“Jack’s versatility as a player, his care for his teammates and his demonstrated willingness to do whatever it takes to win, are all critical elements to our future team success,” president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong said.
McBain has 82 points in 241 games with the franchise, which moved to Utah from Arizona. Since debuting in April 2022, he ranks third in the league with 832 hits.
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