Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll was not a happy camper when he saw Matthew Knies get injured during the second period of Wednesday’s win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

Golden Knights defenceman Zach Whitecloud delivered a hit with his shoulder going into Knies’ chest and appeared to make contact with Knies’ head. Knies’ head violently hit the ice as the result of contact and Whitecloud’s feet subsequently left the ice. Knies immediately headed to the dressing room and did not return for the rest of the game.

Woll spoke with reporters after the game about what was going through his mind when he witnessed his friend get hurt in the questionable manner that it occurred. He was understandably irate, but he harnessed that anger to up his play.

“It’s not a good thing that he’s hurt, but it definitely sparks some energy with the team,” he said. “I think sometimes anger and those things can be used to drive you through a game. So, I was just happy to see us shut him down after something like that.”

“It’s energy for sure. I was pretty pissed after it, so I tried to harness that as well as I could.”

That ended up paying off in spades as Woll was outstanding the rest of the game, coming up large when Vegas came swarming in with a flurry of chances. He stopped all 31 shots he faced on the night en route to his second career shutout, the first since November 21, 2021, against the New York Islanders which was his second career start.

With emotions still running high from Knies’ injury, Woll was proud of the way the Leafs collectively played defensively and did his best to keep up.

“I think behind a great defensive effort, I thought I played within my system,” he said. “There were some different moments where, you know, the momentum was swinging both ways and in the second we had a few kills. It’s tough for me to talk much about that game because [Knies’] sitting behind me. But you know, our effort tonight was pretty special.”

There were concerns that Woll’s spot on the team was in jeopardy due to a combination of his lack of durability compounded by his injury before the start of the regular season and the emergence of Anthony Stolarz as a solid option in the crease. Woll has put those fears to rest with strong play since returning to the fold and now sits with a 4-2-0 record, a .922 SV%, and a 2.00 GAA through his first six starts following Wednesday’s shutout win.

Woll knows that his second career shutout was made possible because of his teammates’ willingness to block shots, especially Steven Lorentz who led the way with four on the night.

“That’s unreal to see. Usually, that kind of stuff is reserved for playoffs, but when you play like that in a regular season on a Wednesday night, it’s pretty special,” he said. “That’s winning hockey. I think that’s the way we’re trending and trying to play more. And especially when you have some of your biggest guys out, it’s really cool to see guys step in and step up and play to our system like that. So yeah, it was a great effort.”