Doug MacLean raves about Joseph Woll’s impact in Toronto’s win vs. Panthers: Leafs Morning Take

For the first time in about a month, the Toronto Maple Leafs have won back-to-back games.

But seriously, it was so refreshing to talk about the Leafs in a positive light —for once. No qualifiers needed, Craig Berube’s bunch took care of business on Tuesday night in Sunrise. That’s where the conversation started on the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take.

Through five of six in a row on the road, the Leafs are 3-2-0 as they head to Raleigh to cap off the trip. For the second straight outing, they fired off a solid and complete effort. Once again, Joseph Woll was dialled in making 25 stops. Additionally, the big story was Toronto’s depth pieces. Troy Stecher and Dakota Joshua tallied one goal and one assist while Scott Laughton potted his first of the campaign. Of note, Toronto’s PK – with Woll shutting the door in front of them – has quietly killed off 13 of the past 14 power plays. Laughton’s been a big help with that, too. Meantime, Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s point streak ended at nine games. All in all, the McMann-Roy-Joshua third line was dominant for the second straight outing combining for one goal and three helpers. Unfortunately, the power play still stinks. Just for good measure, the much-maligned five forward set allowed a short-handed tally to Sam Reinhart. Ugly stuff, folks.

At any rate, after that discussion, former NHL GM & head coach Doug MacLean dropped by to weigh in on Toronto’s 4-1 win at Amerant Ban Arena. Right off the bat, he waxed poetically about Woll’s performance. He thinks Woll’s the key to everything. Additionally, he hit on how much stock we can put into this game given how injury ravaged the Panthers are. Also, MacLean was very complimentary of Stecher, the bottom six, and the Leafs finding a way to dig deep and get the job done. Furthermore, he played the role of Brad Treliving and disclosed what he would do if he was the general manager of the Leafs. Lastly, we asked him about Craig Berube’s job security. MacLean thinks he’s a good coach, not a great one. That said, he doesn’t think this turbulent start is on the coach. He pointed the finger directly at the players.

And so, the Leafs are off to Raleigh to tangle with the Carolina Hurricanes. Coming up on the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take, we’ll offer up a preview of that one. Plus, Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun will drop by.