Stolarz's .938 save percentage through five games is the sixth-best total in the league.
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to have a fine goaltender in Anthony Stolarz.
It's only five games into the regular season, and there are still several months to go before the postseason begins. Still, the 30-year-old netminder is proving early on that he's a valuable pickup for the Maple Leafs.
Stolarz was calm, cool, and collected against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night. He stopped 32 of 34 shots, winning his third of five games to start the regular season, and left Scotiabank Arena en route to Columbus with a .938 save percentage.
"Just confidence and just having that routine day in and day out," Stolarz said of how he's gotten off to a strong start in Toronto, "working with (Maple Leafs goalie coach) Curtis [Sanford] on a lot of things on our practice days, getting my rest, taking care of my body and just making sure I make the most of this opportunity."
Throughout the regular season, you witness great saves from incredible goaltenders. One stop from Stolarz on Monday night — during the second period — will likely get included in the save-of-the-year discussion.
After letting out a rebound, Tampa's Jake Guentzel was smacking the puck along the goal line beside the net. However, the 6-foot-6 goaltender reached back to cover up the puck before it squeaked over the goal line.
"He’s been amazing. I mean, playing great back there, making huge saves," William Nylander said on Monday night.
"I mean, that might be one of the nicest saves of the year maybe. I don’t know, that was insane today. He’s been just so solid for us back there and giving us a lot of confidence."
Stolarz's save was impressive enough that the crowd inside Scotiabank Arena rose to their feet and applauded the Maple Leafs team they were watching.
"Ah, it’s exciting. It kind of swings momentum our way," Stolarz said. "They have a 5-on-3 with an opportunity to kind of swing and change things. By the crowd getting into it, I think it shattered them a little bit and allowed us to kill it off."
Matthew Knies, who had his second goal through six games on Monday night, said the save didn't just get the crowd to their feet. The 22-year-old explained that the entire Toronto bench was enlivened.
"Everyone’s up for it, our whole bench. That’s a pretty incredible save and it kept us in the game the whole night. Obviously, we didn’t do too well staying out of the box and gave them a 5-on-3 and they got a lot of chances, but he stood his ground and played well."
Earlier this season, Stolarz admitted that one of the reasons he signed with Toronto was the potential of playing more games than ever this season. With Joseph Woll injured to begin the year, the Edison, New Jersey native has started five of the Maple Leafs' six games.
Although it's still early in the year, it's evident that Stolarz has gotten into a groove and is enjoying every second of being in Toronto's net on most nights.
"It’s been a pretty fun 14 months, but, no, at the end of the day I just try and live in the moment and just try and enjoy each and every day," Stolarz said on Monday.
"It’s a privilege to play in this league and we have such a good group here that it makes it a lot of fun to come to the rink every day and you can obviously see the skill, the talent here and our mission is to do a lot of big things this year and I think games like tonight are a nice stepping stone in the right direction."
