After coming off a four-game road trip out west, the team’s first game back in Toronto to kick off a five-game homestand did not go according to plan. The Leafs found themselves behind the play much of the night and could never establish their rhythm, trailing 5-1 by the end of the second period.

Woll was in the net for all five of those goals and was pulled in favour of Dennis Hildeby when the third period began.

“I think I get very focused on my game, so I don’t think I process too much about what the team’s doing, which can be a good and a bad thing,” Woll said to reporters after the game. “But at the end of the day, the result’s not how I wanted it. And the last couple of games, obviously not the result I want. Go to the drawing board, learn from it. Tomorrow’s a new day, flush it and get back to work.”

After recording a shutout against the Vancouver Canucks on January 10th, Woll’s last three starts have been far from stellar, with him giving up three, six, and five goals in those games. Monday’s game also marked the second time this month that Woll was yanked from the game in favour of Hildeby, with the previous instance being the New Year’s Day tilt against the Winnipeg Jets.

Woll acknowledged that he is in a stretch where he is fighting through it, so he knows the best course of action is to stay even-keeled and focus on the process.

“There’s always things that can be corrected. I think I’d be naive if I said my game is perfect and there’s nothing for me to learn,” he said. “Sometimes learning experiences are fun. Sometimes you win and you learn. Sometimes you lose and you learn, they’re not so fun. There’s plenty of things to learn from any game I play, so I’ll take a look at that.”

Woll won’t need to dwell on the result for too long as the Leafs’ next game is a crucial divisional matchup against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday. The compact schedule due to the upcoming Winter Olympics means there’s little time for teams to catch their breath, so they have no choice but to grind it out.

This applies to Matthew Knies, who was a game-time decision coming into the Wild game due to a nagging injury that he has been fighting through for the last few weeks.

“It’s a crazy schedule right now, so I think the league is feeling it. Knisey, he’ll show up for our team as best he can,” Woll said. “It’s a testament to how awesome of a guy he is, and he’s a beast. Pumped that he’s out there with us.”

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