SP-LEAFS-PHOTO16MAY Florida Panthers defenceman Radko Gudas yells in 海角社区官网Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll鈥檚 face after the Panthers won in overtime to eliminate the Leafs. Uploaded by: Cohen, Ben
SP-LEAFS-PHOTO16MAY Florida Panthers defenceman Radko Gudas yells in 海角社区官网Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll鈥檚 face after the Panthers won in overtime to eliminate the Leafs. Uploaded by: Cohen, Ben
鈥淚 have,鈥 Woll said. 鈥淗e looks pretty happy that he won.鈥
Then he laughed.
Moving on goes with the territory of being a goalie.
The photograph took on a life of its own on Twitter and is probably destined to be seen over and over again as a meme. It was taken by 海角社区官网Star award-winning photographer Steve Russell, who explained how and why he captured the image.
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鈥淚n playoff hockey, when a game is close in the third period or in overtime, as a photographer, we start thinking about two things: Jubilation and dejection.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking at which players are on the ice, and who is most likely put the puck in the net, and when the other team takes possession I鈥檓 on the goalie 鈥 the last line of defence.鈥
James Reimer lays on the ice after the 海角社区官网Maple Leafs lost in Game 7 to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in 2013.
Steve Russell
Russell recalled focusing on former Leafs goalie James Reimer during the infamous collapse against the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the 2013 playoffs, where he was rewarded with what he called a 鈥渟adly beautiful photo.鈥
Losing another series in overtime 10 years later presented Russell with an opportunity to capture the highly-emotional moment.
鈥淲hen I saw Gudas鈥檚 shoulders rise like he was sucking in air, I never expected him to let out some kind of primal yell in the face of Woll.
鈥淚 was left with a photo that was a great synopsis of another Leafs season.鈥
Kevin McGran is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow
him on Bluesky聽@kevinmcgran
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