Woll to start in goal for Maple Leafs in Game 4 against Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. --Joseph Woll will start for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

The Maple Leafs trail the best-of-7 series 3-0.

Ilya Samsonov, who sustained an undisclosed injury 37 seconds into the second period of the Maple Leafs' 3-2 overtime loss in Game 3 on Sunday, is out and considered day to day. Matt Murray, who last played April 2 because of a head injury, will be Woll's backup.

Woll, 24, stepped in after Samsonov was injured in a collision with teammate Luke Schenn and allowed three goals on 21 shots. It was Woll's second Stanley Cup Playoff game; he allowed one goal on five shots in relief of Samsonov in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Samsonov did not practice Tuesday.

Even though there was an extra day off between Games 3 and 4, time is a commodity the Maple Leafs have precious little of.

RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Panthers series coverage]

Only four teams in NHL history have come back from down 3-0 in a best-of-7 series: the Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final, the New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1975 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, the Philadelphia Flyers against the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, and the Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks in the 2014 Western Conference First Round.

It will be up to Woll to keep Toronto's season going.

"Joseph Woll, have great confidence in him when he went in the net [in Game 3] and he backed that up with his performance," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said Monday. "So I think our group has a lot of confidence in him. He looked confident and didn't appear like the situation was too big for him.

"If we need to go back to him, we have lots of confidence and belief in his ability."

Selected by Toronto in the third round (No. 62) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Woll is 9-2-0 with a 2.38 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in 11 NHL games.

"I think the first thing I was thinking about was hoping 'Sammy' wasn't too bad," Woll said after Game 3. "I'm not sure what's going on but hoping for the best for him.

"And then it's just focusing the best I can and getting to a place I need to be mentally. I think that was the only thing that's going through my head: trying to help the team the best I can."

As much as the Maple Leafs need a big game from their goalie, they also need more from their offense, which has scored exactly two goals in each of the past five games. In those five games, forwards Auston Matthews (two goals), John Tavares (one), William Nylander (none) and Mitchell Marner (none), have combined for three goals. They combined for 146 goals during the regular season.

"We have no choice now," Matthews said. "It's do or die. Our backs are against the wall."