The hockey gods can’t stop bestowing us with nail-biters, it seems! In what could have been the end of the line for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it turned out to be anything but! Craig Berube’s boys shut out the Florida Panthers 2-0 to tie the Eastern Division second round 3-3 and force things into the tiebreaker, which would be game 7. And all thanks to the Leafs’ netminder Joseph Woll.

The Toronto team won its last Stanley Cup back in 1967. Naturally, with the long gap in between, the Leafs were determined to make this season count. And they looked more than ready to take on any challenge as they edged past arch-rivals, the Ottawa Senators, to reach the second stage of the playoffs. And tonight, courtesy of a special shutout performance by Joseph Woll, they aren’t out of the title race just yet!

The Athletic senior writer James Mirtle took to X on May 16 to highlight how the Leafs’ goalie went out of his way to keep the Cats at bay at the Amerant Bank Arena. Making 22 saves, Woll was like a rock in front of Toronto’s net, and Mirtle revealed how his standout display of skill got the former into a special club. “Joseph Woll is the first Leafs goaltender to post a shutout in a game when facing elimination since Curtis Joseph in Game 5 of the 2002 conference finals,” the social media update notes.

In the 2002 campaign, the Maple Leafs started the Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes with a win, but lost the next three matches straight. A loss in Game 5 would have sealed their fate, but Joseph stood firm and forced the series into Game 6, which Toronto ultimately lost. However, the former Leafs star’s feat remained a solid display of gusto, which Woll has finally managed to match tonight.

Well deserved, this new feather on Woll’s hat, we’d say! After Anthony Stolarz had to step down from his netminding responsibilities following his collision with the Panthers’ Sam Bennett, Joseph Woll has been like a rock for the Maple Leafs. Raking up 133 saves in five games, the 26-year-old has proven that he’s more than capable of ensuring that Toronto doesn’t drop out of the title race.

Tonight’s game between the Eastern Conference giants was a crucial one. The Panthers could have wrapped the series and proceeded with their title defense run. But Woll had different plans altogether. Earning his first career postseason shutout, Joseph helped the Leafs avoid elimination and show their worth as the top seed of the Atlantic Division. “This is a pretty special opportunity for our team. We felt good going in,” said Toronto’s goaltender after the game.

But let’s not bet on the Florida Panthers giving their foes a hall pass!

Joseph Woll still has to lace up for one last time against the champs

The Panthers won their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2024 by defeating the Edmonton Oilers. The Cats finished the 2024-25 season in third place in the Atlantic Division, behind both the Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the postseason, Paul Maurice’s boys met with the in-state arch-enemies, the Lightning, for the second straight year, and emerged victorious in the Battle of Florida for the second consecutive time.

With a stacked roster boasting the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand, and more, the Miami team stormed into the second round high on confidence, but the Maple Leafs, winners of the storied Battle of Ontario themselves, looked too hot for them to handle. With Stolarz guarding the net, Toronto picked up the first win of the series, and Joseph Woll took over from the second game onward.

But the Panthers, being the reigning champs they are, refused to back off. Despite many NHL experts dismissing their chances of defending the Cup, Florida has kept coming back again and again. But will that determination prove to be grave for Joseph Woll & Co.? We’ll have to wait just till sunday to find out!