TORONTO — Goaltender Anthony Stolarz exited midway through the second period in Game 1 of the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Florida Panthers on Monday after taking an elbow to the head from forward Sam Bennett.
Toronto won 5-4 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.
There was no penalty called on the play that injured Stolarz. The veteran initially stayed around the net for a couple of minutes before appearing to vomit on the Maple Leafs bench before being removed from the game. He was replaced by backup Joseph Woll, who finished the win. Meanwhile, Stolarz left Scotiabank Arena on a stretcher later in the third period and was taken to a local hospital, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Stolarz had made eight saves on nine shots before leaving while the Maple Leafs held a 4-1 lead over their Atlantic Division rivals. Woll gave up three goals in the third period before securing the victory.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Stolarz was still being evaluated and would not confirm if that was being done at the hospital or not. But Berube did share his thoughts over the non-call on Bennett.
“Elbow to the head,” Berube said. “Clearly. Clear as day. I’m not sure why there wasn’t a call on it, but it was clearly a penalty.”
Florida coach Paul Maurice cited that lack of penalty being assessed when asked about the contact, deferring to the officials in their response to Bennett’s play.
“The referee is standing right there when it happens,” Maurice said. “The league will do its thing [in reviewing the play]. And I will coach the next game. Hopefully.”
Bennett was not made available to reporters after the game.
Stolarz started all six playoff games for Toronto against Ottawa in its first-round series victory, recording a 4-2 record with a .902 save percentage and a 2.21 goals-against average.
The 31-year-old veteran — who was the Panthers’ backup last season for Sergei Bobrovsky on their run to a Stanley Cup title — was the Maple Leafs’ backbone in net throughout the regular season. He sat out some time after midseason knee surgery but was an impressive 21-8-3 with a .926 save percentage and a 2.14 GAA.
“Hopeful for Anthony and his health,” Maurice said of his former player. “And hoping he gets better real fast.”
Woll took over starting duties when Stolarz was out during the regular season. He posted a 27-14-1 record with a .909 save percentage and a 2.73 GAA.
Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies — who recorded a goal and an assist in the victory — said he didn’t see the hit on Stolarz but believed the NHL would handle it properly.
“Hopefully the league will take a look [at the hit] and handle it and protect our players,” he said.
Game 2 is Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena.
