RICK VAIVE: A new chapter unfolds for Joseph Woll, Matthew Knies
Article content
You have to like a textbook road win — and the kind of stories Matthew Knies and Joseph Woll made out of it on Friday.
Article content
Talk about a tale of two different nights, from Game 5 to Game 6. The Leafs had no passengers as they deadlocked the series with a 2-0 shutout. They did a great job in the defensive zone, blocking 31 shots, Joseph Woll was great and they didn't allow any power-play goals, or try any more of those sloppy passes for plays that weren't there.
Article content
Article content
Florida is a tough team to out-work, yet Toronto took away the middle of the ice and allowed nothing in front. How many times did Florida get a shot that resulted in a tip or a rebound? Woll was really sound in there.
Article content
Article content
It might have been the circumstances — the whole backs-to-the-wall elimination thing. It could also have been that old problem with the Leafs — playing too fancy at home in front of their fans. Once you get out of town, with fewer distractions, you certainly have the players' attention. This close to the end of the year, everyone listens to the coach about keeping it simple.
Article content
Auston Matthews scored a big goal as everyone knows he can, Mitch Marner set it up and Max Pacioretty scored the clincher.
But there were many other leaders-by-example.
Woll's ability is one thing — pucks just seemed to stick to him in Game 6 — but it's his calmness that impresses me, too. He doesn't react to unnecessary things around him, even at the end of the game when Matthew Tkachuk tried to get in his face.
Article content
Article content
He lifts his team to a point where they're thinking: 'I'm not going out of position, I know he'll make the save, I'll just worry about my job out front'.
Article content
You read Woll's media interviews, too, or see him on camera, and he knows the right thing to say about himself or the team. I think he and Jake Oettinger in Dallas learned a lot of that when both were in the U.S. Development Program. Oettenger has said they're good friends and that Woll is just scratching the surface of how good he can be.
Article content
Not bad for the guy who was supposed to be the backup to Anthony Stolarz in the playoffs.
Article content
There was some real inspiration provided by Knies as well after he got hurt. I'm no doctor and don't know the nature of his injury, but that reverse hit from Niko Mikkola really slowed him. Yet he hung in there, even if he didn't get used a ton afterwards.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
New Blue Jays book sheds light on attempted Ohtani signing
Toronto Blue Jays brass used all the bells and whistles when they tried to land two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in the fall of 2023. The once-in-a-lifetime pursuit of the Japanese free agent, as author Keegan Matheson writes in his new book, 'The Franchise: Toronto Blue Jays,' included taking Ohtani, his agent and interpreter at the time on a tour of the team's renovated player development complex, complete with a few special touches. Three lockers in the clubhouse were set aside for Ohtani, along with jerseys, gear, hats, bags and accessories. It was all part of an elaborate effort to sell him on the team. An impressed Ohtani — whose camp wanted total secrecy throughout the process — walked out of the Dunedin, Fla., facility with bags of team gear and a Blue Jays hat on his head, Matheson writes. Ohtani stopped to take pictures with his interpreter, who was also sporting some Toronto kit. The superstar's dog, 'Decoy,' came running out to join them in a Canadian dog jacket the Blue Jays had bought for him. 'I think that the presentation they gave Ohtani was incredibly impressive and they were not the No. 2 team just to be strung along and used as the other person at the bargaining table,' said Matheson. 'They were No. 2 because they almost signed him.' The behind-the-scenes colour and details from Matheson's interviews and descriptions bring an intriguing, memorable and downright surreal chapter in the team's near half-century history to life. Ohtani would eventually sign a 10-year, US$700-million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a big blow for Canada's lone big-league team and its countrywide contingent of supporters. The Blue Jays would eventually sign a big fish of their own, locking up star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year extension last April worth a team record $500 million. The megadeal helped soothe any lingering pain from the Ohtani situation and also showed the franchise was willing to spend big in an effort to be a consistent contender. But that Ohtani off-season — from a bizarre Zoom call with general manager Ross Atkins to the erroneous report that Ohtani had chosen the Blue Jays and was on a plane to Toronto — was the 'strangest experience' Matheson expects to have as a reporter. 'The game that went into it was really fascinating,' Matheson said in a recent interview. 'Trying to operate in secrecy in a world where we want to know everything that's going on with your favourite team and with your favourite player. 'This was more of a TV drama and the amount of work that went into keeping it secret fascinates me.' The book also explores the team's early days, the playoff successes in the early 1990s, the near-misses in the previous decade, and many of the players — on and off the field — who made it all happen. The stories and anecdotes are not always the obvious ones. From players sipping chicken noodle soup at a frigid Exhibition Stadium, to amusing tales of manager-athlete dynamics, to the homecoming after a 670-day break between home games due to COVID-19, Matheson touches all the bases. 'Instead of asking a pitcher why he lost or asking someone why they struck out three times, this was an opportunity to ask someone, 'Hey, tell me about the best days of your life,'' said Matheson, who covers the team for 'Tell me about that memory that everyone always asks you about at the bar, at golf tournaments and coffee shops.' 'The Franchise: Toronto Blue Jays,' a 302-page book published by Triumph Books, is available now at a retail price of $38.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Stanley Cup game control: A question of style, puck possession and exploiting mistakes
While the benefits are obvious of playing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch explains why it actually hurts their depth in the long run. Sorry, we're having trouble with this video. Please try again later. [5006/404] Losing a faceoff and a battle for position less than a minute into Monday's game cost them the first goal. A rash of early penalties then finally caught up to them for the second one. And then the Edmonton Oilers were really chasing the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, ultimately losing 6-1 in Sunrise, Fla., while taking an atypical 85 minutes in penalties. 'I thought we got away from our game,' Oilers captain Connor McDavid said after Monday's game. 'Part of that is due to chasing it a little bit. Part of that is, credit to them, they played well. You find yourself in a hole, you're gonna do some uncharacteristic things ... 'We've done well chasing down games and turning the tide. Obviously, we didn't do it (Monday night).' Yes, the Oilers feature two of the National Hockey League's best players in McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. But the Panthers are considered the NHL's fiercest and finest forechecking team. They feature the likes of Sasha Barkov, arguably the best two-way player in the game and this year's Selke Trophy winner as the league's top defensive forward, and Gustav Forsling, among the best defensively on the blueline. Tenacity is in great supply on south Florida ice, too, with the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen in the Panthers' forward ranks, and Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones on the back end. Did I mention they're the defending Stanley Cup champions? Panthers vs. Oilers Florida Panthers' Sam Bennett (9) celebrates his goal against the Edmonton Oilers with Eetu Luostarinen (27) during the second period in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final in Sunrise, Fla., on Monday, June 9, 2025. (Nathan Denette/THE CANADIAN PRESS) While the first two games of this year's Cup final are arguably among the best ever played – close, blow-for-blow battles between two of the NHL's titans ending in overtime, with each side claiming victory once – Game 3 was much different. The Oilers couldn't catch up to the Panthers this time for all the aforementioned reasons, but partly because Florida could play to their strengths and clamp down on Edmonton's attack while protecting – and adding to – their lead. Case in point: Reinhart's goal for the Panthers a minute and 20 seconds after Corey Perry got the Oilers' first, and ultimately only, lamp-lighter of the game. The Panthers pressed the Oilers immediately after Perry's marker and capitalized on mistakes and misplays to gain the puck and score. 'I don't think we have gotten up to standard where we want to be yet. I think it's coming." — Mattias Ekholm Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm said after Tuesday's practice 'it's pretty clear' to him that whoever 'manages to play their game' more than the other side is the one that wins. But while the Panthers have gotten the better of the Oilers so far, he says his team's best 'is coming.' 'I think they've managed to (dictate their style of play) better in two games, and we did it better in Game 1,' Ekholm told media. 'In that regard, I don't think we have gotten up to standard where we want to be yet. I think it's coming ... It's a 2-1 series, so we're in a good spot, but we need to raise our game.' Stanley Cup Oilers Panthers Hockey Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) trips over Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) during the second period of Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup final Monday, June 9, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (Lynne Sladky/AP) The Oilers' Trent Frederic said maintaining control of the puck more often – and staying out of the penalty box; Florida scored on three of 11 power-play chances in Game 3 – helps keep the Panthers in check. 'When they have a lot of power plays, even if they're not scoring, their star players are getting touches on the puck and feeling good about themselves,' the forward acquired from the Boston Bruins in late January said Tuesday. 'You never really want that to start. They're good at playing that game, and I've played them in multiple series ... It feels like they're doing more but (they're) getting more penalties (to go on the power play), so they're good at that.' Also handcuffing the Oilers to a degree is a hesitancy because of depth concerns on the part of head coach Kris Knoblauch and his staff to go to their nuclear option: Activating the dynamic duo of McDavid and Draisaitl by putting them on an even-strength line together, something Knoblauch and every coach before him have relied on to kick-start the team's offence. 'With what we have right now, to run those two together for long periods of time makes it more difficult for our depth on our team,' Knoblauch told reporters on Wednesday. 'At points, it's very beneficial to have them playing together, but especially with the absence of Zach Hyman, it makes it a little more difficult putting those two together.' Stanley Cup Oilers Panthers Hockey Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) watches as a shot by center Carter Verhaeghe enters the goal against Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) during the first period of Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup final Monday, June 9, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (Lynne Sladky/AP) If there's any solace in Monday's loss for the Oilers, it's that they've experienced such a low before. Just last year against the very same team in the very same high-stakes final series, never mind in other series leading up to the Final both this year and last. Face it, the Oilers faced even longer odds last June while staring down the barrel of a three-games-to-none gun held by these very same opponents. Ekholm said his team has 'played better this year to start the first three than we did last year.' 'Obviously, the result shows that, but also, we have a better understanding of what needs to be done out there,' he said. 'We can't let emotions, outside effects, referees – whatever it is – affect us. 'We've got to stick to the process and play our game, and I think good things will happen.'
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Blue Jays earn sweep against St. Louis Cardinals as their momentum keeps picking up steam
It has been said, and often proven, that when you're hot, you're hot. Article content The Blue Jays fall under the above category, a surging team that continues to find different ways to win, even when facing a deficit. Article content Article content Nothing seems to rattle this team at this particular moment, a time in which the Jays have improved their record to 38-30 following Wednesday's 5-2 win and a three-game sweep against the host St. Louis Cardinals. Article content Toronto has gone 6-0 during its nine-game road trip that winds down this weekend in Philadelphia. Article content The Jays are winning with the longball and can also manufacture runs. Article content The team's pitching is walking a delicate balance, but it's been working. Article content The following are three takeaways from an afternoon at Busch Stadium where veteran right-hander Spencer Turnbull made his Blue Jays debut, striking out two and surrendering two hits in two scoreless innings, a day when Yariel Rodriguez pitched a hitless ninth to pick up the save, his first in the bigs. Article content 1. Small ball Article content The return of the home run to the Jays' offensive arsenal is one of the main reasons why they've been able to go on a run that has led to five straight series wins. Article content Every so often, small ball is in vogue. Article content Blue Jays' Myles Straw reached base on a bunt single. Article content Article content A Bo Bichette sac fly would give the Jays a 3-2 lead. Article content After Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in Clase to extend Toronto's lead, Vlad Jr. stole second. Article content It was his second base swipe of the season. Article content There was nothing exotic or appealing in how the Blue Jays manufactured two runs, but there was something very reminiscent of the days when teams didn't have to rely on the longball. Article content Article content There was something unusual in how the inning ended when Alejandro Kirk struck out swinging. Article content In the fifth inning, Ernie Clement went deep for his fourth homer of the season as the Jays scored their fifth unanswered run. Article content It was Clement's third hit of the game.
