Stolarz signing has been big save for Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- Anthony Stolarz was in obvious discomfort.

Hunched over in the Toronto Maple Leafs crease, the veteran goalie was feeling the searing pain of a shot from Boston Bruins sniper David Pastrnak that had drilled him in the neck in the first period at Scotiabank Arena Tuesday.

After needing more than a minute to shake off the effects of the blast, Stolarz managed to gather his wits and proclaimed himself ready to continue.

Was he ever.

For the remainder of the night, it was the 30-year-old Maple Leafs goalie who was the sore spot for Boston en route to recording his first shutout with Toronto and the ninth of his NHL career in a 4-0 victory against the rival Bruins.

“It's good,” Stolarz said. “I mean, most importantly, we got the two points and beat a big division team. So, you know, I guess I thought it was probably one of our better 60-minute efforts of the year, and hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

Stolarz certainly has done exactly that from the moment he signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Maple Leafs (average annual value $2.5 million) on July 2. Once he stepped onto the ice, he’s been comfortable and in control from the get-go, a run that has nudged him ahead of the often-injured Joseph Woll in the battle for Toronto’s starting job.

In nine games with Toronto, the Edison, New Jersey native has gone 5-2-2 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. His penchant of going post to post to make big stops had the capacity crowd in Toronto on its feet chanting his name, something that was not lost on he or his teammates.

“You know, it's always going to get you kind of going,” he said of the fans’ support. “They appreciate the sport and they're the ones who kind of drive us and give us energy. So anytime that they can get loud and make some noise for us, we really appreciate it.”

Just like his fellow Maple Leafs appreciate his efforts.

“Massive saves. Couple of massive saves coming across the crease,” Toronto forward Mitch Marner said. “'Stolly' has been doing that all year for us in the net. Big kudos to him. It could have been a different game or different score without him. Massive.

“Great to see the fans give him the love for him he deserves too.”

Stolarz recorded career bests for starts (24), wins (16) and GAA (2.03) in 2023-24 in a backup role to Sergei Bobrovsky to help the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup. Now he’s trying to do the same in Toronto, albeit in a potentially far bigger role with the Maple Leafs.

In the process, while he might be exceeding the preseason expectations of many Toronto supporters, coach Craig Berube doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think so,” Berube said. “I think that, going back to last year, with the season he had, if you look at the numbers, he played extremely well.

“He’s been around a while and has really learned how to do the work and understands what he needs to do to be successful. He showed that last year too.”

Now, he’s doing it again, perhaps at a higher level than ever before. And if he can keep it up, he might turn out to be one of the better bargains in the League, if not one of the more influential difference makers.