Woll withstands Ovechkin's onslaught, asserts himself as Maple Leafs starter

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Evgeny Kuznetsov sat in his stall patiently listening to a visiting reporter's theory. 

Maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs of the 2020s — with their lethal sniper and their fear-inducing power-play, with their antsy fan base and their mounting history of postseason disappointments — are a little bit like the Washington Capitals of the 2010s.

"You trying to say that they're going to win the Cup?" said Kuznetsov, unleashing a laugh hearty enough to fill the dressing room. "I've been a little bit fan of their game and the way they play. You know, it's a fun hockey team to watch. 

"But same time, there is a lot of good teams in this league. And I know you guys in that city have no patience and you think that Stanley Cup could win tonight," the Russian smiled, his wit sharper in a second language than many in their first. "Teams build for 10, 15 years sometimes. And I wish them all the best, and I feel like they go in the right direction."

Tuesday's tilt at Capital One Arena pitted two Eastern Conference powers jetting in different directions, a trend punctuated by a decisive 4-1 Maple Leafs road win thanks to their game-breaking stars and their dialled-in backup-turned-starting goalie.

"On the backs of very strong goaltending, timely scoring, and I thought a good, disciplined third period," coach Sheldon Keefe summarized accurately.

Yes, Toronto submitted a lacklustre first period and got outshot 37-17 on the whole.

But the top-end players paid and promised to make an impact, to bury their chances, all found the scoresheet.

Morgan Rielly's first of the season, drifting down low on the power play. 

A deft tip-in by John Tavares. 

A William Nylander solo burst to the net front and no mistake up high. 

An Auston Matthews–Mitch Marner give-and-go ending with a blistering one-timer from the man hunting down the man hunting down Wayne Gretzky.

Slivers of offensive brilliance are all that's necessary when you get the quality of goaltending the Maple Leafs are receiving these days from Joseph Woll.

"I thought tonight was one of his best games that I've seen him play," Rielly said. "Just a great teammate, a great young man that works extremely hard. You can tell on a night like tonight."

Keefe noted Woll's blend of composure and athleticism, as he stretched to make several 10-bell saves, withstood an avalanche of Alex Ovechkin blasts, and even stoned the Great 8 on a backhand penalty-shot attempt with his blocker.

"Fourteen shots? He shoots a lot," Woll smiled. "He was a dangerous player, especially in his little kitchen on the power-play."

The emerging story of the Leafs' 4-2-0 season kept Toronto alive in an under-siege first period as Capitals coach Spencer Carbery's new club tilted the ice something severe against his former one.

By the time Ovechkin finally ended Woll's shutout streak at 109:34, the Leafs had already built a four-goal lead and had smacked cruise control.

"Obviously it's a boring period in the third, but that's the way you want it when you're up," Rielly said.

No, the Maple Leafs didn't win the Stanley Cup on Tuesday. What they did do was witness another promising step for a homegrown goaltender — so often a key ingredient to a deep run. (Just ask Kuznetsov about Braden Holtby.)

Woll's mental focus is razor-sharp early, and it's buying the pieces around him time to find their groove.

"When I first turned pro, that's something I discovered I needed to work on a lot. And over the past couple years, it's been a lot of time making sure that my mindset is right, to stay in the moment, and that allows me to play free and trust myself. I have a very like thinking mind, so the best I can do when I'm on the ice is to kind of quiet that and just let myself play," Woll explained.

"I'm really happy that (Keefe) has faith in me to play me. Any opportunity I get to get in the net and help this team win, I'm very excited for."

Well, Woll should get excited for Dallas on Thursday and a showdown with his friend Jake Oettinger.

The Maple Leafs need to ride the calm mind and the hot hand.

Fox's Fast Five

• Ovechkin outshot the Leafs 7-5 in the first period and was blasting pucks all night, no doubt fed up after posting doughnuts in the goals column through four games and matching his longest-ever drought to start a season (2013-14).

The man finished with a silly 14 shots and 17 attempts.

"I do have to do my job, do my best thing to do," Ovechkin said pre-game.

Ovechkin ended his personal dry spell and the Capitals' season-long power-play drought by pouncing on the man-advantage late in the second period. He became the first NHLer in history to record 300 power-play goals.

"I'm pretty sure that as soon as it's gonna be one in the net, then the storm's coming, right?" Kuznetsov said. "It's one of those moments when he probably hasn't dealt yet in his career but, at the same time, it's pretty exciting to see what's going to happen after he gets one."

Ovechkin has now scored 42 goals and 75 points in 57 regular-season games against Toronto.

"He was attacking all night," Carbery said. "He was not deferring at all."

• Nylander has sped off to the most productive start in his nine NHL seasons: a six-game point streak in which he has five goals and five assists. He and centreman Tavares co-lead the team with 10 points.

"I just feel like I'm skating well," Nylander explains. "And that's all I need to do is skate well." 

• Matthew Knies is noticeable, in a good way, every night.

• Ovechkin was one of Noah Gregor's favourite players growing up, and the checking winger admits he was starstruck the first time he went head-to-head against the Russian.

"There's a few guys like that around. The first time you play him, you're watching him in warmup. And the first couple plays, you don't reality want to be too hard on him."  

Gregor recalls clipping Ovechkin when the Sharks met the Caps in January 2022.

"He came up to me and gave me a shot," Gregor smiles. "So, I don't know if he's too fond of me, or if he even remembers that play. But that's something I'll remember for sure." 

• Matthews (23:56) and Marner (23:53) came into the game ranked first and second in average ice time amongst all NHL forwards, averaging nearly a full minute more than the next-most-used forward, New Jersey's Jack Hughes (22:57).

Meanwhile, Toronto's fourth liners — Ryan Reaves (7:14), Pontus Holmberg (6:52), and Gregor (9:06) — are all in single digits.

Ideally, Keefe says he wants his bottom line to skate between eight and 12 minutes nightly. That hasn't happened often, largely because Toronto has played from behind so often.

"Eight is sort of the minimum for me," Keefe said. "We've been unable to get them there, but I go into each game with that approach and it's on me to manage that."