The Toronto Maple Leafs squeaked out a 2-1 win in overtime against the offence-deprived New York Rangers, and Anthony Stolarz was the objective first star.
His 28 saves on 29 shots is an indicator of a good start, but you had to have watched the game to appreciate his role in this game (if you were watching the Blue Jays, I don’t blame you. If you were dual-screening like me, welcome to the crazy club!). If you don’t have time to watch the full game, here’s a sneak peek at what you missed .
https://t.co/Wf1BPJz5sd pic.twitter.com/GNis90qATW
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 17, 2025
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That’s a maskless Stolarz continuing to track play while knowing full well he faced a risk goalies haven’t had seen since the 1970s. Okay, maybe I embellished a little bit, but it was an impressive display and one of many high-danger chances that kept the Leafs in the game despite relentless pressure from the Rangers.
Okay, here’s one more look at another impressive Stolarz stopped.
what a night pic.twitter.com/lZ771fwZqX
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 17, 2025
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After a couple of games to start the season that saw the depth scoring carry the mail, the Leafs’ star players have started to pick it up lately. Matthew Knies scored the first goal of the game by doing what he does best, driving to the net on the power play, and his knee deflected a William Nylander shot to open things up. In overtime, the Rangers won the opening faceoff but didn’t get a clean look, which resulted in a 2-on-1 for Auston Matthews and William Nylander. You can probably predict the rest.
WILLIAM NYLANDER.
AUSTON MATTHEWS.
OVERTIME WINNER!!!@OREO | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/6mkMRuC4Sk— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 17, 2025
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One last note on Stolarz, who will undoubtedly get his flowers from his teammates and coach. The goal he allowed had some arguable goaltender interference. The Maple Leafs opted not to challenge, and it probably wasn’t enough to call a penalty on, but the point here is that you’re going to be cut some slack when you’ve been messed with in the crease and then have to face a shot from beyond traffic. It didn’t shake him, and the Leafs came out victorious.
The Leafs will be back in action on Saturday night when they host the Seattle Kraken.
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