Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz was elated to see his team pull off the overtime win in Game 2 and gain a 2-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators.
The 31-year-old was outstanding once again, stopping 26-of-28 shots he faced from the Senators in a game that the Leafs needed him to come up large. Despite an onslaught of quality looks from the opposition, Stolarz maintained his composure while only allowing fluky goals that were not entirely his fault.
Stolarz also got into a shoving match with Ridly Greig, who was parked in the crease partway through the second period and resulted in both players getting penalized.
“ No, I’ve taken quite a few penalties in my day,” Stolarz said post-game. “ Just one of those things that it didn’t matter. I didn’t even know who it was, who it is. Just one of those heat-of-the-moment, and it is what it is.”
Stolarz later added that he knows that because he is a big body, Greig and the Senators are trying to throw themselves around the net, and he has to fight through it the rest of the series. That means continuing to keep control of the rebounds and not giving Ottawa any chance at easy goals.
“ That’s playoff hockey, the ebbs and flows. You have to weather the storm and try not to give ’em too, too much,” Stolarz said. “It’s kinda on me as well to make a big save here or there. In the second period there, they were kind of just throwing junk at the net and just trying my best to control it. I thought we did a great job of boxing out their forwards, and those guys have kind of allowed me to see the initial shot.”
Stolarz has taken the mantle as the Leafs’ starter right now through his strong play throughout the season and his fiery demeanour on the ice. More importantly, he has a short-term memory of when he gave up a goal and instead kept his focus on the next shot so as not to let things snowball. He is a major reason why the Leafs were able to win the Atlantic Division in the regular season and why they head to the nation’s capital with a 2-0 series lead.
“ More than the same. Obviously, Stolie, always been phenomenal for us all year,” Maple Leafs forward John Tavares said of his goaltender. “Continuing in Game 1, continuing tonight. Came up big and that guy’s just real committed on the interior blocking shots. Boxing out, doing things we had to do. When they were able to generate some more time and space to create a play, he’s right there.”
Above all else, Stolarz’s strong play was a reason why the Leafs were able to stay in the game when momentum shifted to the Senators in the second period. It helped make Max Domi’s OT winning goal, which Stolarz was pumped to see the forward get rewarded with a big goal.
He has been enjoying the feeling of being the playoff starter, describing it as something you live for. But Stolarz knows the job is far from over and things will only get harder heading into Game 3.
“ Obviously confidence is high, but they’re gonna be ready to go. They’re gonna have their home crowd behind ’em,” he said. “ I think for us it’s just kind of focusing on the first period of that next game. We’re gonna look at the film today, and I’m sure there’s gonna be some things we can improve on. And there’s some things that we did really well to kind of limit their chances. For us, it’s just kind of enjoy the moment tonight, but right back to work tomorrow.”
