NEW YORK — The Toronto Maple Leafs had no business walking into Madison Square Garden Friday with a win.
Unless you consider that they walked into the world’s most famous arena with a goaltender fit to outduel the mighty Igor Shesterkin, he of Vezina Trophy and $92-million-contract fame.
On a night Craig Berube’s “lacklustre” road team got outshot 35-17, out-chanced 38-18, gave away 25 pucks and too many deadly scoring chances on its own power play, everyone inside Madison Square Garden knew the reason why Toronto found a way to win its seventh game in eight attempts and continue its post-break win streak.
“Oh, gosh. Stollie. He was on fire. That’s why we won,” William Nylander said, following a 3-2 stickup of the desperate New York Rangers.
“Stollie just stood on his head all game,” Matthew Knies agreed.
“Wasn’t our best,” Jake McCabe confirmed. “Got key goaltending, as usual.”
Since Anthony Stolarz has recovered from mid-season knee surgery, he and partner Joseph Woll had been alternating starts — until Friday.
To these eyes, it was a peek into the decision-makers mindset that Stolarz was given the more premium start out of the break (Saturday versus a good Carolina team) and the desperate Bruins on Tuesday, while Woll defeated the rebuilding Blackhawks on Sunday.
With Woll ill, Stolarz has now grabbed the net in three of the past four games — and won them all. He has posted a .918 save percentage since going under the knife and is riding a five-game win streak that dates to December.
Stolarz noticed the Rangers, who spent a generous amount of time in Toronto’s zone, were rolling three high, while playmakers Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad sought out seams. He felt he was tracking those east-west passes well, beating them with his feet instead of sliding wild.
And, yes, he drew inspiration from staring down Shesterkin — “He’s, in my opinion, a top-two or -three goalie in the league” — at the other end.
“It’s exciting for sure,” said Stolarz, conducting his post-win interview with a shirt despite Ryan Reaves’ request to doff it. “You know that he’s gonna be on his game.
“So, you have to dial it in and be ready. And they’re a good team. They like to play with a lot of pace and throw pucks at the net. I kinda knew that I was gonna get a little work. I knew early on that I was gonna have to be sharp.”
Coach Berube says outside of knowing Stolarz had performed well as a backup for the 2024 Stanley Cup champions in Florida, he didn’t place expectations on either of his starters heading into this campaign, where goaltending has kept the Leafs at the top.
Does Berube want one man to snatch the crease before Game 1 of the playoffs?
“That’s a good question,” the coach replied. “Going into the playoffs, it’s normally one guy that’s going to take control of it and go.”
In 2022, Berube’s final post-season as Blues coach, he started Ville Husso against the Wild because the up-and-comer had outduelled Jordan Binnington down the stretch. When Husso fell down 2-1 in that series, Berube made the switch and Binnington finished the job.
Binnington got hurt in the second round against Colorado, and Husso went back in.
“So, there’s always things you’re gonna have to change,” Berube said. “But going into the playoffs, you want one guy being ready to take it.”
Stolarz realizes that there is “nothing set in stone,” but we’ll remind you that one of the main reasons the career backup signed a cap-friendly contract with the Leafs in July was because he spotted an opportunity to establish himself as a No. 1.
“There’s never a doubt in my ability. I know that I’m one of the best in the world, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity. I’m excited,” Stolarz said upon signing.
That confidence spills out into how the shiny-masked goalie speaks to the skaters in front of him during play and between periods — an attribute Berube says is important.
McCabe calls him “loud.” And we’ve never seen a Leafs goalie slap his stick on the ice so hard and so many times whenever a penalty is winding down.
Toronto has dressed a few introvert goaltenders in recent seasons; Stolarz is anything but.
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“He definitely gives it to us when we’re not working hard, and rightfully so,” Knies explained. “There were times in this game where we weren’t moving our feet, we weren’t helping him out. So, yeah, we need that feedback. We need the words to get us going here.
“It fires me up. It makes me motivated to block shots, get in front of him, help him out as much as possible.”
Stolarz says his willingness to challenge teammates, to wield his voice, stems from his experience in Florida last season. He was encouraged to motivate regardless of how many games played he had
“For me, it’s just, we have the talent, the work ethic to do great things this year. And for us, it’s just about consistency,” Stolarz said. “By encouraging them to go out there and play a good 60 minutes, if we’re able to put a full game together, we can go far.”
Same goes for dressing the better goalie on most nights, which is a welcome development in Leafland.
“They’re there to bail us out. So, it kind of minimizes those mistakes, I guess,” McCabe said.
“It’s easier to move on, versus if I’m giving up pizzas and they’re ending up in the back of my net, I’m not feeling great about my game. So, they help our confidence in that way.”
Yes, it’s still they.
Woll has 23 games to take the reins, and what’s true in the NHL today may flip tomorrow.
But Stolarz has raised the bar, and Woll — who’s won three of his past four starts — should feel inspired to match his partner save for save.
“Can’t say enough good things about our goaltenders,” McCabe said. “It’s good s—.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• Knies’s sibling Phillip was in the building to see his little brother score his 22nd goal, which stood as the winner.
Phillip, who was Matthew’s choice for the mentors’ trip, hasn’t got enough of following the Leafs.
“My family, they’re always there. So, I never get away from them, never kind of a little break,” Matthew chuckles. “But, no, it’s nice. It’s nice having him here. I’m excited to give him a hug after.”
• With Adam Fox injured, the Rangers unveiled a fresh five-forward power-play formation, which is what the Maple Leafs have turned into the new norm.
Let’s just say it needs some work.
In its first attempt with Mika Zibanejad running point, the Rangers’ PP1 committed an icing and a too-many-men penalty. Yikes.
• What does a day off in New York City look like for Nylander?
The comfortable man’s Triple S.
“Shopping, sushi, sauna,” says the superstar.
“And more sushi, actually, for dinner. It was crazy. We have one spot we like to go.”
• Auston Matthews first got to know J.T. Miller when they teamed up for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup early in their careers.
The Team USA captain raved about Miller’s contributions in America’s runner-up finish to Canada last week.
“One of the more popular guys on the team, definitely. He’s a competitor. He’s a guy that you love to have on your team, and I really enjoyed spending time with him and playing with him,” Matthews said. “He’s an extremely high-IQ, smart player. A guy that you love to have on your team, especially come playoff time.”
• Quote of the Day.
Reaves on conducting his interviews bare-chested, a trend endorsed by Nylander and, on occasion, Stolarz: “It should be a team-wide thing, to be honest with you. Gotta sell the game.”
