There was a natural curiosity about Anthony Stolarz’s form in his return to action , as he emerged as a Vezina Trophy candidate through the opening two months of the season. Perhaps there was some trepidation as well. Stolarz put all concerns to rest in a near-flawless performance, steering the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken.
Stolarz made 27 saves and was cool, calm and composed in the winning effort, making a handful of flashy glove saves — Kraken forward Matty Beniers surely has a few regrets — while affording the Maple Leafs every chance to win their third consecutive game. The 31-year-old made a series of excellent stops on Mitchell Stephens in the first frame, he robbed Brandon Montour with his glove in the second, and he made arguably his best save on the evening with the Leafs on the penalty kill, blanking Shane Wright from a high-danger area.
Eeli Tolvanen beat Stolarz in the third period, breaking up an otherwise flawless return for the Maple Leafs’ goaltender.
Philippe Myers submitted one of his best games of the season, opening the scoring with his first goal of the season. Myers’ shot was redirected past Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord, on an accidental tip from Beniers, and an elated Myers was thrilled to see it. We saw the full Myers experience during the first period, as he took an ill-advised penalty on Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky moments later, but the Leafs killed off the penalty rather easily.
It’s also worth noting that Mitch Marner recorded the 500th assist of his career on Myers’ goal. Marner has been the Maple Leafs’ MVP all season and he was excellent on the penalty kill Thursday, returning to action after missing Tuesday’s win against the Calgary Flames with spasms. It was an odd night from Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares, who did all the small things well, but flubbed a handful of grade-A chances — Marner missed a breakaway, while Nylander bobbled the puck on a clear 2-on-1 chance. It didn’t matter in the end for the Maple Leafs. All would be forgiven for Marner, anyways, as he closed out the game on a monstrous three-minute plus shift.
Bobby McMann and Matthew Knies continued to be the Kings of the West Coast — we’ll workshop this nickname together through the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off break — as they both scored for the third consecutive game. McMann deflected a Morgan Rielly shot, while Knies tipped home a point shot from Jake McCabe. Knies’ goal was reviewed, but ultimately it was determined that he didn’t touch the puck with a high-stick. Perhaps he got away with one, but as the adage goes, you have to be good to be lucky!
It was a sound victory for the Maple Leafs — you can throw away the stat sheet for this one. Stolarz was outstanding, the Maple Leafs received some depth scoring, and are unbeaten on the road trip thus far. It certainly bodes well entering the break, as Toronto resumes its schedule Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks.
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