After a memorable comeback win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 21, the Toronto Maple Leafs looked to carry over that momentum against the Washington Capitals last night (Oct. 24). They faced a Capitals team that was hungry due to their slow start to the season, but in the end, they got the job done. The Maple Leafs won the contest by a 4-1 final score, and here are three notable takeaways from the contest now.
Woll’s Excellent Performance
It is not a secret that Joseph Woll is in a prime position to steal the Maple Leafs’ starting job. Ilya Samsonov has had a brutal start to the season, and he most notably allowed three goals on four shots against the Lightning in his last appearance before being pulled. Woll, of course, played a big part in their comeback win against Tampa Bay with his excellent play, and it translated over to this contest versus the Capitals. The 25-year-old made several marvelous saves during the night and stopped 36 out of 37 shots.
Most notably, 13 of Woll’s saves came against arguably the NHL’s greatest sniper of all time, Alex Ovechkin. Although Ovechkin finally scored on his 13th shot in the game, Woll stood on his head against him, and that alone warrants praise.
If Woll did not perform as well as he did in this one, there’s a very good chance that the Maple Leafs would have lost. The Capitals had a ton of chances, as they had 37 shots, while Toronto had just 17. As a result, it is safe to say that Woll played a huge factor in this Maple Leafs win.
Successful Goal Challenge Sparks Maple Leafs
Although Woll had a spectacular game, things could have gone better for the Capitals if a first-period Nicklas Backstrom power-play goal was not taken back. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe initially hesitated to challenge the goal and even took a timeout to weigh his options. Keefe ultimately decided to challenge for goaltender interference in response to Ovechkin skating into Woll before Backstrom’s goal crossed the line. In the end, this was a wise decision by Keefe.
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As we know, the goal was taken back, and this ended up sparking the Maple Leafs’ offence big time. Following this successful goal challenge, the Maple Leafs scored four unanswered goals, which ended up being more than enough to win the game.
Nylander & Tavares Stay Hot
William Nylander and John Tavares have been the Maple Leafs’ most consistent forwards so far this season, as they have been spectacular. Both of these stars were great for the Maple Leafs against the Capitals, too, as they each had a goal. With this, Nylander and Tavares extended their season-opening points streaks to six games.
Due to their fantastic starts, Tavares and Nylander now both lead the team in points with 10. If these two can continue this kind of play moving forward, they each could be in for the best seasons of their careers in 2023-24.
However, Nylander and Tavares were not the only players who made an impact with their offence in this one. Matthews and Morgan Rielly each had a goal and an assist, while Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, John Klingberg, Timothy Liljegren, and Mitch Marner all had an assist. Thus, the Maple Leafs received contributions from plenty of their notable players in this win.
Nevertheless, this was a great win for the Maple Leafs, and Woll was the clear star of the game. They will now look to keep their winning streak going on Oct. 26 when they face the Dallas Stars.
