Leaf Takeaways: On Woll, Holl and last call to show some pride

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Well, at least friends and family saw a lot of Joseph Woll in action.

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No avoiding that with 25 giveaways charged to the Maple Leafs, as the Dardenne Prairie, Mo., native became the first Toronto goalie to face 30 or more shots on goal in eight straight games since Frederik Andersen eight years ago according to Sportsnet. The final one-sided slate was 38-13.

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Our takeaways on Saturday’s sorry 5-1 loss in St. Louis after two wins had restored some measure of team pride.

SAY IT AIN’T SO FOR JOE

“We had one player show up tonight and that was our goalie,” a stern coach Craig Berube told media in St. Louis. “That’s what it really boils down to. Very disappointing. The last couple of (wins) we were building, staying competitive. We did not have that tonight.

“I’m not saying it’s easy (at this late stage of the year for an eliminated team), but if you’re not competitive, you’re letting each other down, you’re letting that sweater down.”

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If Berube thought the Leafs might pick it up for Woll in his backyard, or maybe for himself back where he was the Blues first and only Stanley Cup coach in 2019, he was sorely mistaken.

With St. Louis’ hot March, a record of 9-1-2, the Leafs knew they’d be pressed in their own zone, but it’s what they failed to do when given opportunities to get back in the contest that mattered.

An early four-minute power play produced no shots, let alone a goal, and that same unit surrendered a shorthanded marker right after Jake McCabe made it a one-score game, while a couple of glorious chances for Matias Maccelli rang off the iron.

For the young forwards who’ve been a bright spot of late, Easton Cowan and Jacob Quillan, they committed a total of seven giveaways, though William Nylander and Max Domi tallied six. Quillan did get his first NHL point in his 16th game.

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Faceoffs, which have been Toronto’s lone league-leading stat of note, also suffered, Nylander losing three of four when utilized in the middle as Berube moved pieces around up front,

“Terrible by us not to put up a better effort for Joe,” an understated Nylander said. “Our battle for the pucks weren’t crisp, they were coming up with more than us all night.”

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HOLL-ER IF YOU NEED HIM

What’s to say about the kind of karma the Leafs are getting this year when the guy once considered their biggest blue-line liability has the winning goal on another bad night for the defenceman now labeled the same?

For those keeping track, Justin Holl was plus-1 over 111 games for the Detroit Red Wings after leaving Toronto and the Blues thought he could fill a hole as return as part of the Justin Faulk trade. Holl, moving into the play instead of playing it safe, just kissed a Jordan Kyrou shot with his shaft for his first as a Blue.

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Rielly was a minus-2, his pocket picked on St. Louis’ opening goal. But he had plenty of company among loose Leaf defencemen. Troy Stecher dropped a clearing attempt in the slot that Woll fortunately got a pad on, while the usually smooth Oliver Ekman-Larsson had stick-handilng issues, especially on the power play.

NEXT YEAR ALREADY HERE?

Pity McCabe’s pre-game comments on the Leafs’ need for personal pride and standard of play was apparently not heard or heeded.

The league’s second-highest shot blocker, who stopped his 174th on Saturday, had been asked how he’s kept his effort up with the season so far gone.

“A large chunk of us are going to be back here next year. You need to build bonds with teammates and play for each other. If you’re not playing hard, you’re leaving your teammate out to dry. I think we’ve done a good job of it the past couple of weeks.

“It has obviously been a tough year (but) anytime you take things for granted in this league, you’ll find yourself out of it pretty quickly. There are always guys knocking at the door to beak their way in. Everyone says it’s hard to make it (but) it’s harder to stay.”

Some might indeed save their jobs in these final games, others ought to be rooted out.

Lhornby@postmedia.com
X: @sunhornby

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