Series will be won in blue paint

With goals at a premium, Knies follows recipe for success by making life difficult for Swayman

- DAVE FESCHUK

Matthew Knies’ overtime winner in Game 5 was the kind of dirty-area, quick-strike tally that renders even the best goaltender’s skill level moot, writes Dave Feschuk.

It’s an age-old recipe that’s fuelled many a playoff run. And certainly it saved the Maple Leafs’ season in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime win in Boston.

Call it the two essentials of the blue paint.

Essential one: Have a hot goaltender in yours.

Essential two: Make life as difficult as possible for the goaltender in theirs.

It goes without saying the Maple Leafs are crossing their fingers that Joseph Woll’s 28-save masterpiece in Game 5 is a sign he has rediscovered the form that had him established as Toronto’s top netminder before he suffered a December ankle sprain that kept him out most of three months. A dialed-in Woll could be the much-needed antidote to the stellar performance of Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman, whose .952 save percentage in four appearances leads all playoff goaltenders who’ve started at least two games.

And as for making life difficult for Swayman — well, the lesson of Game 5 is that it might be Toronto’s only chance of creating the requisite offence to keep this series alive. At the risk of nitpicking Toronto’s latest win, which cut Boston’s series lead to 3-2, it wasn’t exactly the offensive explosion the Maple Leafs have long been looking for. It was the 11th time in the past 12 playoff games that Toronto scored two or fewer goals.