Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz put his exposed right hand at risk to make a game-saving stop on the Detroit Red Wings late in Friday night’s home game.
With less than five minutes remaining in the third period, the Leafs were clinging to a 2-1 lead against their Original Six rivals at Scotiabank Arena. A wrist shot from the point led to a scramble for the puck in the crease, resulting in Anthony Stolarz losing his blocker on the play.
Even though is hand was unprotected and exposed to the danger of sticks and skated, Stolarz remained cool and calm throughout the chaotic ordeal. Stolarz grabbed the puck with his bare hand and got the whistle for a stoppage in play, even flashing it to the referee for good measure:
John Tavares would put the game away with a late empty net goal, sealing a 3-1 victory for the home team. Stolarz made 21 stops, pushing Toronto to their second consecutive win that improves the club to 8-5-2 on the year.
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After winning a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers as Sergei Bobrovksy’s backup last season, Anthony Stolarz signed a two-year deal with Toronto worth $5 million. The Leafs moved on from Ilya Samsonov and came into 2024-25 with a Stolarz-Joseph Woll duo.
Woll was expected to be the No. 1 netminder, but Stolarz has been playing like an All-Star with a 6-2-2 record, a .930 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average through his first 10 games. At this point, the Leafs have an easy decision to keep riding the hot hand.
Anthony Stolarz Has Been The Leafs’ MVP So Far
Toronto’s star forwards (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares) are off to strong starts themselves. But through the first month of 2024-25, Stolarz has played like a Vezina Trophy-winning goalie.
Without Stolarz, Toronto might be below .500 right now. At this time, the $5 million deal he agreed to looks like the biggest bargain signing of 2024 free agency.
