As the Toronto Maple Leafs busied themselves closing out a raucous 5-4 Game 1 victory over the nemesis Florida Panthers with backup goalie Joseph Woll holding fort and third-stringer Dennis Hildeby on the bench, two paramedics in red EMS shirts briskly whisked a padded yellow stretcher into the home dressing room for Anthony Stolarz during the third period.
Stolarz was transported by ambulance to the hospital for evaluation, and his status remained unclear when the teams left Scotiabank Arena.
The Maple Leafs’ starting goaltender — a winner of 12 of his past 14 starts — had remained in Monday’s game after shaking off an 80-mile wrister off the stick of friend Sam Reinhart in the first period. And still, but only for a few minutes, after getting his head elbowed by Sam Bennett in a sneaky fly-by during the second.
An ailing Stolarz glided over to the Leafs’ bench after 30 minutes of work. He leaned over and vomited. Wiped his mouth with a towel. Spoke to trainer Paul Ayotte. Then left the net and a 4-1 lead to Woll.
“I don’t like that, of course. When you see your teammate go down like that it, it’s not good,” said Woll, who saved 17 of the 20 shots he faced in his first work in 18 days. “You go from kinda chillin’ to the front line of action.”
The Stolarz-Bennett saga, much like this hotly anticipated Round 2 rematch between two legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, is only beginning.
For the next 48 hours, this story will be front of line and front of mind.
“Elbow to the head. Clear as day,” Leafs coach Berube said postgame. “I’m not sure why there’s not a call on it. But, you know, I get it. They miss calls. It’s clearly a penalty.”
Does Berube expect a suspension for Bennett, who sneak-punched then-Bruin Brad Marchand in 2024’s second round and concussed Toronto’s Matthew Knies in a behind-the-play takedown in 2023’s second round?
“That’s not up to me. That’s up to the league,” Berube replied calmly. “They’ll do what they think is necessary on that play.”
Added Knies: “Hopefully the league will handle it and take good care of it and protect our players.”
The Panthers thought it necessary to shelter Bennett, who scored Florida’s fourth goal and gave the home fans a fright late, from any questions about the elbow postgame. The club did not make the star available despite a request.
Left to comment were a couple of Panthers who paraded the Cup down Beachfront Avenue with Stolarz 11-plus months ago. Eetu Luostarinen called the injury “unfortunate.”
Captain Aleksander Barkov maintained, as did a handful of Maple Leafs, that he didn’t see the play.
“But hope he’s OK. Like, he’s a big man, so hopefully he’s OK,” Barkov said. “But we just concentrate on our game. Doesn’t matter who we play against, and who’s the goalie or what team we’re playing against, we want to do our own thing and concentrate on those.”
Panthers coach Paul Maurice, too, expressed well wishes: “Hopeful for Anthony and his health. We love that guy, and we hope he gets better real fast.”
