The Toronto Maple Leafs won a game that they probably, actually, that they definitely had no business winning. They were outshot 38-15 and only had six shots on goal heading into the third period, but they don’t ask how you got the two points, they just ask if you did. And the Maple Leafs found a way.
The number one reason the Maple Leafs came out on the winning side of things was goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who continued his sensational play on the season on Tuesday night with a 37-save performance in front of 40 friends and family members. The 30-year-old has been an early Vezina candidate for the Maple Leafs, with a 2.13 GAA (goals-against average) and a .928 SV% (save percentage) despite a less shiny record of 9-5-2. He’s kept the Maple Leafs in games they haven’t deserved to win and he’s brought stability to the net in games they have deserved to win. There were too many games in the first half of last season that they lost because of a poor performance in net, so needless to say, Stolarz’s calmness has been a welcomed addition to the Maple Leafs.
His play was seen up close by ex-Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, who was fired by the Maple Leafs in May and is currently in his first season with the New Jersey Devils. Keefe was asked about his new team’s loss to his old team and kept the reasoning pretty simple.
Sheldon Keefe: “Best goaltending in the league on the other side of the ice.”
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) December 11, 2024
Keefe is right to give Stolarz his props. Despite a greasy shorthanded goal from Pontus Holmberg and a chaotic overtime-winner by Auston Matthews, the team isn’t in that game without the performance from their goalie. Stolarz wasn’t able to start against his hometown team in the first meeting between the two clubs, so the start between the pipes was a long time coming for him and he made sure that his friends and relatives got their money’s worth.
While Keefe certainly wasn’t the sole reason the Maple Leafs were limited to one round win during his tenure, there was something poetically cruel about watching his new team dominate their opponent, struggle to solve the opposing goaltender, and allow a back-breaking goal in flukey fashion. Keefe reflected on his time with the Maple Leafs on Tuesday in an interview with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill on Leafs Morning Take, talking about how intense the desire for success is in the city.
“Of course, the market is different and the demands on the media side are different and just the overall feel is different,” Keefe said. “It’s no secret. There’s a lot of pressure in Toronto and expectation to deliver and the fans certainly deserve a win. Big reason why I’m not there any longer is my inability to push the team through. They sort of get rid of some of that heaviness and get a fresh start there with Chief, which I think is great.
The Maple Leafs currently sit second in the Atlantic Division, two points below the Florida Panthers with a game in hand on them. They’ll look to make the leap in the standings when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.
