'You Can't Let In The First Shot Of The Game': Maple Leafs and Joseph Woll Very Critical of 6-3 Loss to Devils

It was a difficult Tuesday night for the Maple Leafs as a whole, but it was particularly tough for Joseph Woll, who allowed five goals on 24 shots in a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

For the second straight game, the 25-year-old goaltender allowed the first shot he faced to find the back of the net. Brady Skjei was the first to do it when Toronto was in Carolina to face the Hurricanes on Sunday.

Luke Hughes — who was raised in Toronto and was playing his first-ever game against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday — beat Woll with a bit of a knuckle puck just over four minutes into the game.

“It was a bit of a sinker,” Woll said of Hughes’ shot following the loss.

Similar to the rest of Toronto’s players on Tuesday night, Woll was very critical about his game. But what’s the mindset like for a goaltender when they allow a goal on the first shot of the game?

“It’s just next save mentality and it’s an unfortunate start the last couple of games but try to shake it off and just focus on the next one,” Woll said.

Whether it be the team’s play in front of him, or Woll’s own performance, what was the biggest takeaway from a game where the Maple Leafs outshot the Devils 45 to 25?

“I felt there were a couple moments in the game where we could’ve used a save,” Woll said, “so I think that’s what I take away from it.”

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was incredibly evaluative of his team’s performance. He said he “hated lots” about the Toronto’s game tonight and that hopefully the players hated it “just as much more more than I do.”

When asked about Woll, the Maple Leafs’ head coach critiqued the goaltender’s game, while also adding that the team in front of Woll wasn’t very good.

“You can’t let in the first shot of the game, that’s two (games) in a row now. But the chances we gave up tonight are egregious, there’s lots of issues in front of him.”

This is the netminder’s sixth game back after suffering a high-ankle sprain in the Maple Leafs’ 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 7. Woll has 10 wins and a .908 save percentage in 21 games with Toronto this season.

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