Things quickly turned frightening for Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who was not only hurt after being elbowed in the side of his head by Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett but was vomiting when he returned to Toronto’s bench.
Stolarz was in no condition to finish Game 1, which ultimately resulted in a 5-4 victory for his Maple Leafs teammates, who grabbed a 1-0 lead in their Round 2 matchup against Florida.
What made things especially troublesome is that, according to a report from NHL insider Chris Johnston, Stolarz left the building on a stretcher and has been hospitalized for evaluation.
Maple Leafs Players, Coaches Demand Punishment After Anthony Stolarz Injury
“Anthony Stolarz was taken out of Scotiabank Arena on a stretcher during the third period of tonight’s game, per sources,” said Johnston on X.
He later gave more information about Stolarz’s injury, saying he was “taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.”
Anthony Stolarz has been taken to a local hospital for further evaluation, per sources.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris)
Immediately following the game, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube stated in no uncertain terms that Bennett’s actions were dirty and merited punishment from the NHL Department of Player Safety.
“Elbow to the head. Clearly. Clear as day,” he said.
"I get it, they miss calls but that's clearly a penalty."
Craig Berube spoke postgame about Sam Bennett's hit on Anthony Stolarz. pic.twitter.com/R5XFwxrKpp
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce)
When asked if he liked Toronto’s players’ response to Bennett, Berube was more concerned that Bennett wasn’t penalized.
“I don’t know what — I think at the time, we handled it the way we should handle it,” he said. “I’m not sure why there’s not a call on it. But I get it, they miss calls. But it was clearly a penalty.”
“I mean, I didn’t get a good look at it, I’m pretty sure that was the play when I had no stick on the ice, so I was more scrambling and trying to figure it out,” he said. “I think I’ll just take a better look at it, hopefully the league will handle it and take good care of it and protect our players.”
“Hopefully the league will handle it and take good care of it.”
Matthew Knies speaks on his thoughts on Sam Bennett’s hit that forced Anthony Stolarz to leave the game. pic.twitter.com/OyKIgEVRyq
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet)
Maple Leafs Goaltender Joseph Woll Was Thrust Into Action
Woll, who began the 2024-25 NHL season first on Toronto’s goaltending depth chart before eventually being supplanted by Stolarz, was thrust into action for the first time in the playoffs.
He’ll be thankful that Knies scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the third period, restoring Toronto’s two-goal lead after the Panthers had scored twice to make it a 4-3 game in the third period.
Despite the Panthers scoring another goal on Woll late in regulation to once again cut it to a single goal, they weren’t able to penetrate any further; Woll finished the game by making 17 saves on the 20 shots that he faced.
Before he left with his injury, Stolarz had stopped eight of nine shots.
