For the Maple Leafs to beat the Florida Panthers, Anthony Stolarz is going to have be better than Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Leafs goalie, who got to know the ins and outs of Bobrovsky’s preparation in backing up the latter during the Florida Panthers’ run to a Stanley Cup championship a year ago, is going to stick to a simple philosophy as he goes about trying to out-play his mentor.
“It’s just about winning the series,” Stolarz said after the Leafs practised on Sunday at the Ford Performance Centre. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a Vezina winner, a hall of famer, a guy making his first start down at the other end, it’s your job go out there and stop the puck and be ready night in and night out.
“It’s about making one more stop than the other guy.”
Don’t expect any lineup changes for the Leafs in Game 1 of the best-of-seven, second-round series on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena.
With Mitch Marner absent for the birth of his son on Sunday, Nick Robertson took on the role of placeholder at practice as he skated on the wing on the top line with captain Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. Max Pacioretty will return to the second line alongside John Tavares and William Nylander after coach Craig Berube dropped Pacioretty down the lineup in Game 6 in Ottawa on Thursday.
If you’re going to have one player who knows better than anyone how the Panthers are going to forecheck with speed and diligence and get to the net, it’s best that it’s your starting goaltender. Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Steven Lorentz also will have some intel to share after lifting the Cup last year with Florida as well, but nothing that Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and the rest of the Panthers bring will be a surprise to the Stolarz.
“Saw one Tkachuk in Round 1 (the Senators’ Brady) and get another one in Round 2” Stolarz said. “I’m a little familiar with him, having played with him last year.
“It’s going to be a good battle. He likes to get in the crease and around the paint, and it’s where his office is.
“Our defencemen did a great job in the last series, clearing traffic out. It’s up to me to make that initial save, try to control it as best I can. And when I didn’t, they were there to clear the rebounds out in front. We know it’s going to be a tough challenge for us, but we’re excited for it, and we’re going to be ready.”
There was some net-front fun for Stolarz against the Sens. The Panthers take it another level completely.
“I think Ottawa is a good little jump-start for us to lead into Florida,” Stolarz said. “Going forward, it was a nice to get a little bit of a warmup in. (Florida is) king of the castle.”
Of course, it’s not going to be just about the performance of Stolarz that plays a role in the Leafs’ fortunes.
The centre depth of Aleksander Barkov, Bennett and Anton Lundell will represent a tough problem, never mind a defence corps that will be bolstered in Game 2 when Aaron Ekblad returns from serving a two-game suspension. And wingers Sam Reinhart, Brad Marchand, Carter Verhaeghe — it’s a long list of impactful Panthers.
“Embracing that challenge of knowing you’re going to have to play through contact, play through pressure (will be key),” Leafs centre John Tavares said. “The execution through that is really imperative. If you can execute, winning a lot of puck battles and earning time and space with winning races, you can put yourself in good position.
“It’s easier said than done, but it’s required at this time of year, getting to the second round, playing a team like Florida as an opponent.”
Tavares took a bit of a long view as well.
