Toronto Maple Leafs' captain Auston Matthews (34) scores the game-winning goal past New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) during overtime in Toronto on Thursday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
A game against Igor Shesterkin and the New York Rangers presented Anthony Stolarz with an early-season test of both his skill and his mettle, and as it turned out, more than a little bit of his moxie, too.
He passed all three tests with flying colours Thursday, making quality save after quality save to ensure that the Toronto Maple Leafs reached overtime, where their two highest-paid players – Auston Matthews and William Nylander – worked a high-end passing play that concluded with Matthews tipping the puck past Shesterkin for a 2-1 victory.
But Stolarz, making his fourth start of the campaign, was undeniably the headline act, deservedly earning first star of the game on the heels of his 28-save salvo. Facing the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner at the other end, the 31-year-old New Jersey native embraced the opportunity for a netminding duel.
“Obviously he’s one of the best, if not the best,” Stolarz said afterwards. “So for me, it’s just kind of worrying about stopping the puck. And you kind of see him make him save after save. And as a goalie, you want to match that and just try to get the team some time to put one by him.”
Coming into the game, Shesterkin had conceded just three goals through his first four games, having saved 103 of the 106 shots he had faced for a .972 save percentage.
But Stolarz wouldn’t have to wait long to see his team beat the Rangers netminder, who finished with 22 saves on 24 shots.
Just 10 minutes in, the Leafs were sent to the power play for the second time in the game. On the 10th power play of their season, Toronto finally cashed one in, with Matthew Knies standing in the right spot at the right time to see a Nylander shot deflect off first Shesterkin and then him before landing in the net for Toronto’s first of the season with the man advantage.
“We’ve worked on that play,” said Knies of his second goal of the season and sixth point in three games. “Just hang on the back post and make myself big and hopefully it bounces in.”
But from that point on, Stolarz was called on repeatedly to keep his team in the game, with head coach Craig Berube saying his team was shooting itself in the foot.
“I thought we extended our shifts in the second period; third period they had the momentum,” he said. “We grinded it out though. Goalie was good, we got to be better than that, but it was a win.”
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz makes a save against the New York Rangers during the first period of their game in Toronto on Thursday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
In the first period alone, Stolarz made an outstanding glove save on Alexis Lafreniere, and an even better double stop on Will Cuylle. In the middle stanza, he exceeded both of those with a sliding left pad stop on a point-blank redirect from Sam Carrick.
Despite having failed to score in each of their last two games, the Rangers kept knocking on the door. They were finally rewarded at 4:51 of the third period, with Juuso Parssinen finally ending their goal drought at 170 minutes and 39 seconds by tipping a shot from Braden Schneider past Stolarz.
Controversially, the Leafs goaltender was called on to use his head to make a game-saving stop with 3:13 remaining, losing his helmet on a shot from Matthew Rempe. He was then forced to make a pad stop on J.T. Miller helmetless, before the Leafs iced the puck to stop play.
The NHL rule is that the referees won’t necessarily blow the play dead if there is a chance for the attacking team to score, but that did little to diffuse the reality – and danger – of the situation.
“It’s a tough call,” Berube said. “I mean, your goalie loses his mask, you know he’s in a very vulnerable position, and a position to get really hurt. And I don’t think anybody wants to see that ever. So in my opinion, blow it down.”
Stolarz added that the same thing happened to Vegas goaltender Adin Hill the other day, and said that it’s high time saner heads prevailed when it comes to refereeing this particular situation.
“It’s not like goalies are trying to knock our helmets off,” he said. “I mean without the buckle, you can’t really see the puck, you can’t really track or do anything, because as you move your head, it falls off.
“So hopefully the league can kind of look at it, talk to some goalies or people who have knowledge of the position, and we can kind of come to some sort of compromise where our safety isn’t put at risk there.”
Still, dangerous or not, the play preserved a 1-1 tie for the Leafs, allowing them to get to overtime, where their most skilled offensive performers took over.
After thinking about making a line change, Nylander quickly reconsidered, picked up a pass from Morgan Rielly, and entered the Rangers zone. After weighing up his options, he floated a pass to Matthews, who was parked on the doorstep to tip in his fourth goal of the season just 58 seconds into the extra period to end the game.
Despite his moment of magic – which earned his team-leading ninth point of the season – Nylander was at a loss to explain his action afterwards.
“I mean, just happens,” he said. “I don’t really think I’m thinking too much when I’m coming down there.”