The Toronto Maple Leafs emerged victorious in Game 1 after defeating the Florida Panthers 5-4 on home ice, but it didn’t come without a potentially big blow to the Leafs’ roster.
Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz left the game during the second period after taking an elbow to the head from Panthers forward Sam Bennett. Although he remained in the game briefly, he reportedly got sick on the bench just before a Leafs power play and left the game in favour of Joseph Woll. Not much has been made available by the team regarding Stolarz’s health, but it was reported by TSN’s Chris Johnston that he left Scotiabank Arena on a stretcher while the third period was going on.
Bennett catches Stolarz in the head pic.twitter.com/AorFonA398
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) May 6, 2025
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Anthony Stolarz was taken out of Scotiabank Arena on a stretcher during the third period of tonight’s game, per sources.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 6, 2025
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Woll stopped 17 of 20 shots after entering the game, and despite a couple of goals he would probably like back, some slack must be granted. He hadn’t played since April 17 and his first taste of action since then was the middle of a playoff game against the NHL’s defending Stanley Cup Champions. He made enough stops to secure them the victory, and with a Game 1 win in the books for the Leafs, the attention will now shift to Stolarz’s health.
Stolarz entered Monday night’s game with a 2.21 goals-against average (GAA) and a .901 save percentage (SV%), ironically, identical stats to those of Sergei Bobrovsky in Round 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He stopped eight of nine shots before the injury happened.
Head coach Craig Berube was not thrilled about the fact that Bennett didn’t receive a penalty on the play, making his thoughts clear when speaking to the media postgame.
Craig Berube on Sam Bennett’s hit on Anthony Stolarz: Elbow to the head. Clearly. Clearly. Clearly.
— Arun Srinivasan (@Arunthings) May 6, 2025
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Game 2 is set to go on Wednesday night in Toronto, and once there’s a clearer update on Stolarz’s health, the team will await any potential discipline coming from the league. It’s unknown if anything will come of the incident, but priority number one for the team at this point is the health and well-being of their starting goaltender.
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