Woll ‘in good place mentally’ for Maple Leafs, will likely start against Capitals

TORONTO -- Joseph Woll will likely make his first start in nearly two weeks when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, SN, TVAS).

Woll returns after 4-1 losses in his past two starts against the Boston Bruins on March 4 and 7. He waited 84 days between starts while recovering from a high ankle sprain sustained Dec. 7 until his return Feb. 29, when he made 30 saves in a 4-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes.

“I’m excited to get a good chance to get back in the net,” Woll said Monday. “I feel like this last week-and-a-half or so has been good for me -- learning how to be a good teammate when I’m not playing and supporting the team, and then also giving me time to step back and be able to reset and just focus on some stuff.”

Toronto’s schedule has been light since Woll’s latest start, playing only four games since. Ilya Samsonov is 2-1-1 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .907 save percentage over that stretch. Samsonov had won 13 of 15 starts, allowing more than three goals only twice during that span, until losses on March 16, 5-4 in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes, and 4-3 at the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

“It’s unbelievable being able to watch him, and some of the saves he’s been making recently are unbelievable,” Woll said. “He has me jumping up and down on the bench and fired up, so my goal is to be able to help the team as well as he has been.”

Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said Monday that with two sets of back-to-back games this week, Woll was guaranteed to get two starts. A good performance Wednesday could earn Woll more starts after Keefe was left unimpressed by his team’s performance in Philadelphia.

“Forward, defense, goaltending, I didn’t like anybody,” Keefe said after the loss.

Keefe has not indicated who he intends to start in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs next month. The Maple Leafs (38-20-9) are third in the Atlantic Division, nine points behind the second-place Florida Panthers and five ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Woll, who is 9-7-1 with a 2.89 GAA and .911 save percentage in 18 games (16 starts) this season, said he is ready for his next opportunity, even after the losses to the Bruins. He allowed four goals on 27 shots on March 4 and four goals on 25 shots March 7.

“Truthfully, just getting back into playing and it’s easy to try to force things when you’ve been off for a bit and sometimes the answer is just letting go a little bit, so I think that’s just something I’ve been trying to do,” Woll said. “I think it’s important to reflect on the games and be able to learn from it and take those experiences forward, but at the same time keeping my focus on what’s now and what’s moving forward.”

Keefe said the fact that Woll has gone nearly two weeks between starts was not a reflection of a loss of confidence in his ability.

“I think he’s been great,” Keefe said. “He obviously got two starts in, in those Boston games, and then last week [it was] a combination of us having a bit of a gap in the schedule and us selecting to play Samsonov in both games.

“He’s been able to, after playing a couple games, take a step back and just continue to work at his game. ... I think he is in a good place mentally.”

Woll had one of his best games this season in his first career start against the Capitals, stopping 37 of 38 shots in a 4-1 win at Washington on Oct. 24. Thirteen of his saves came against Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.

Washington (33-25-9) has won three in a row and trails the Detroit Red Wings by one point for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Ovechkin has three goals in his past two games, including two in a 5-2 victory against the Calgary Flames on Monday. He has 21 goals in 64 games this season and is second in NHL history with 843.

“Playing teams for the first time my career is always exciting, especially like it was someone like Ovechkin,” Woll said. “It was a lot of excitement for me going into it, and he shoots the puck a lot. I learned from that game, so I’ll be ready for it [Wednesday].”