Toronto Marlies head coach Greg Moore has not yet confirmed who will start Game 3 against the Amerks tonight, but if Joseph Woll gets the call, he is fresh off two elimination Stanley Cup Playoff games last week with the Maple Leafs.
“I’ve had some experience now in elimination games, and I’m able to feel comfortable in that spot and just stick to what I know and play my game,” Woll said via the Marlies website Tuesday. “I think an important thing this year is trying to be where my feet are, and whatever team I’m with helping them to get success. This is an awesome group of guys, so I’m just happy to be here and be a part of this.”
With the Leafs facing elimination in Game 4 against the Florida Panthers last Wednesday, Woll stopped 24 of 25 shots in a 2-1 win. He came back with a 40-save effort in Game 5 on Friday, but the series ended in a 3-2 overtime loss. Woll had a 2.43 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage in his four playoff appearances overall.
“It’s one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life so far,” Woll said of his extended NHL recall. “It was an amazing experience for me and my life and my hockey career, and now my goal is to just carry it on.”
Woll was a Marlies representative at the AHL All-Star Classic in February and went 16-4-1 with a 2.37 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 22 games. He also played seven regular-season games with the Leafs, going 6-1-0 with a 2.16 GAA and .932 save percentage.
Forward Bobby McMann also spoke with the Toronto media Tuesday. McMann, who had 21 goals in 30 games with the Marlies, has not played since Mar. 21, when he was injured in a game with the Maple Leafs.
On whether he would be back in the lineup tonight, McMann said: “I’m not sure what the decisions are yet.”
The Rochester Americans know exactly what Toronto is facing tonight. After all, the Amerks lived it in their North Division semifinal series against Syracuse, when they went down two games to none before winning three straight to take the series.
With that experience fresh in his players’ minds, head coach Seth Appert has not raised the subject of trying to finish the series tonight. He also has kept his meetings short and worked to not overload his players with information or pressure.
“We haven’t talked about it,” Appert said following practice Tuesday. “We’ve been focusing on just one game. What can we do today to get ready to put ourselves mentally and physically in the best position to win one game?
“Our whole focus has been on that, learning lessons along the way. Our guys know how hard it is to end somebody’s season. We have a tremendous amount of respect for Toronto. They won our division for a reason. They’re an excellent team, but our focus is on preparing to just win a game.”
Hershey Bears head coach Todd Nelson is giving his players ample time to settle in Hartford.
After a 4-2 win in Game 2 last Saturday night gave the Bears a 2-0 lead in the teams’ Atlantic Division final series, Nelson gave his team off the following day before hitting the road Monday following practice.
“Getting up there, getting acclimated, no distractions,” Nelson said of the benefits of leaving town early.
Hershey also went ahead two games to none in their division semifinal against Charlotte before the Checkers put a scare into the Bears, taking Game 3 and going up 2-0 in Game 4. Nelson is not at all eager to relive that unnerving experience against Hartford.
“The mindset is let’s not give them a second chance, because it’s a short series,” Nelson said. “That’s a good hockey team over there.”
“It was nuts.”
That was Coachella Valley Firebirds goaltender Joey Daccord’s takeaway after he had a front-row seat for Monday’s triple-overtime win over Calgary. Daccord went toe-to-toe with Calgary counterpart Dustin Wolf, the AHL’s most valuable player and top goaltender this year, and finished with 60 saves, including 19 in the first overtime session.
“It honestly got to the point where I felt like it was never going to end,” Daccord said Tuesday after a chance to recover from a game that stretched four hours and 45 minutes.
The Firebirds also got a boost from the return of star forward Andrew Poturalski, who was back in action Monday for the first time since he was injured in a Jan. 26 game at Iowa. A two-time Calder Cup winner, Poturalski had 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists) in 38 games before the injury cost him nearly four months of play.
“I think it really gave a big boost to everybody,” Daccord said. “He’s an incredible player. He’s a really big part of this team. It hurt for a long time not having him in the lineup, so to get him back and just get his leadership and his poise and confidence with the puck I think was huge for our team.”
The regular-season champion Calgary Wranglers will fight for their season tonight.
“Our last two games have been better,” head coach Mitch Love told reporters after Monday’s Game 3 loss. “It’s a fine line out there, and we knew that was going to be the case in this series. I was proud of the guys.”
Saving their season will require them to take back-to-back road wins against a Firebirds opponent that has gone a combined 30-11-2-0 at home during the regular season and Calder Cup Playoffs. But Calgary captain Brett Sutter sounded an upbeat note even after Monday’s loss.
“We trust that we’re going to come out and get the job done in Game 4 here,” Sutter said. “We’ll clean up some things, and we’ll be all right.”
The Texas Stars got exactly what they expected on their trip to Milwaukee.
“We know it’s going to be hard,” head coach Neil Graham said via the team website as his team prepared for tonight’s Game 3 against the Admirals. “You leave Milwaukee [tied], and that’s always the goal in a tight series.”
Texas received a boost from defenseman Artem Grushnikov, who made his playoff debut in Game 2 after Will Butcher was not able to go. Grushnikov, 20, was a 2021 second-round pick by the parent Dallas Stars and spent this season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs before joining Texas.
Veteran Alex Petrovic picked up his first goal of the postseason in Game 2 and took on a heavy workload with Butcher out.
“[I feel] really good, actually,” Petrovic told the team website. “We destroy ourselves in the gym, too, so it’s part of it. It’s not as bad as we think, so we all feel good. We were missing [Butcher] out there. That was a tough break for us and for him, but I thought the boys handled it well.”
― Patrick Williams
