John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
On Monday, the Maple Leafs won Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoff series with the Panthers in a game overshadowed by the early exit of Anthony Stolarz. The Toronto goaltender was transported to the hospital after taking an elbow from Florida forward Sam Bennett, and the league is asking for trouble after declining to hand out any discipline in the wake of the scary incident.
The Panthers made quick work of the Lightning after setting out on their quest to defend their Stanley Cup championship, and there was zero doubt the Maple Leafs had their work cut out for them if they wanted to play spoiler in the second round.
Toronto got off on the right foot on Monday night in a contest where they pulled out to a 3-1 lead in the first period and warded off Florida’s attempt to mount a comeback en route to taking the first game of the series with a 5-4 victory.
However, the Maple Leafs may need to overcome the loss of the man who started in net in Game 1, as Anthony Stolarz was taken to the hospital on a stretcher in the second period after he vomited on the bench upon being pulled in the wake of a play where he immediately went down after Sam Bennett made contact with his head while going through the crease.
Stolarz was pulled after this collision with Bennett https://t.co/Xns4P1VzVd pic.twitter.com/CxWuBJlFW6
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 6, 2025
It’s worth noting Stolarz took a puck to the mask in the first period that certainly had the potential to trigger a head injury that could have been exacerbated by the contact with Bennett.
You can also argue the Panthers winger inadvertently struck the netminder while tracking the puck, but plenty of hockey fans who saw the play in question were not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt when you consider he has a history of dirty behavior on the ice that’s impossible to ignore.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube didn’t mince words while addressing what transpired after the game while criticizing the officials for failing to call a penalty on Bennett, saying the elbow to the head was “clear as day” but biting his tongue when asked if he thought the NHL should hand out supplemental discipline.
However, based on what Elliotte Friedman reported on Tuesday morning, the league has no plans to go that route after reviewing the play and determining it doesn’t merit a fine or suspension.
There will be no supplemental discipline emanating from Florida/Toronto last night.
Personal opinion, stemming waaaaaaaaay back from Milan Lucic/Ryan Miller:
Goalies need to be protected. Fact there was no penalty/punishment is a miss and bad outcome.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 6, 2025
Now, it does seem like the concussion spotters tasked with pulling players off the ice for showing signs of head trauma missed the mark after Stolarz was visibly shaken up by the puck that managed to dent his cage.
Their failure to do so means the goalie was already vulnerable when he got clipped by Bennett, but I’m not sure how a league that has a department devoted to the promotion of player safety can look at the second incident and determine he should get off scot-free.
Stolarz was released from the hospital on Tuesday morning, but his status for Game 2 on Wednesday night remains up in the air as of this writing. However, there’s zero doubt Bennett will have a target on his back in a contest where things will probably get ugly based on the likelihood of Toronto resorting to some frontier justice to exact revenge.