Why Maple Leafs are sticking with Anthony Stolarz in Game 6
After losing Game 5, some wondered if the Toronto Maple Leafs would change it up in net and go to Joseph Woll. Turns out they’ll stick with Anthony Stolarz and Jason Bukala writes why that is absolutely the right call.
The first-round playoff series between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs hasn’t disappointed. I’ve been impressed with the way the Senators have bounced back in the series, which has rekindled the Battle of Ontario.
Ottawa has bent in this series, but they haven’t broken. They are putting the league on notice that they are a resilient group that has been building up to big moments in the playoffs and capable of meeting them. An argument could be made that, with a little puck luck, Ottawa could have already won this series given the fact they lost two games in overtime. They were one shot away from winning both of them.
Winning two in a row and now sitting in a 3-2 series deficit with Game 6 at home Thursday night, Ottawa has pushed the Maple Leafs into a corner. The pressure is entirely on Toronto now and many questions are being asked about adjustments they should make to finally put away this series.
Some wondered if the Leafs should turn to Joseph Woll in net for Game 6, though head coach Craig Berube confirmed Thursday morning that Anthony Stolarz would be the starter once again.
But should they have considered Woll or is sticking with Stolarz the right call?
Woll or Stolarz?
I understand what some of my colleagues and some fans are hoping for when they position the strategy replacing Stolarz with Woll in Toronto’s net.
The Leafs look like a team that needs a spark and they have the luxury of rostering two capable playoff goalies. If the Leafs indeed feel it’s time to go to Woll, Game 6 would have been the best remaining opportunity to do so. It’s hard for me to envision Toronto going to Woll in Game 7 after sitting on the bench for a couple weeks unless Stolarz has a complete meltdown and they feel they have no choice.
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However, the fact of the matter is that Stolarz has given the team a chance to win every game in this series. If I’m being critical, I would have liked to see a stop on Brady Tkachuk’s game-tying goal in the third period of Game 3 and the overtime winner off Jake Sanderson’s stick in Game 4, but it’s not like both were routine saves.
What would the Leafs have liked Stolarz to do differently on the two goals he allowed in Game 5? Take a look at the amount of traffic he had to look over and around on Thomas Chabot’s first goal:
I’ve highlighted Auston Matthews losing the face-off and the route Tkachuk takes to the Leafs’ crease (to be fair to Jake McCabe he momentarily bumps into the linesman, which allows Tkachuk an open lane to the net). Mitch Marner could have delayed his jump to the point and protected the middle of the ice better instead of getting pushed out of the lane by Claude Giroux. Finally, if Matthews isn’t going to block Chabot’s shot from distance he needed to slide to the left and engage closer to Tim Stutzle instead of providing another layer of traffic for Stolarz to see around.
Most people have been critical about how the Leafs distributed the puck on their power play late in the game before giving up a shorthanded goal to Dylan Cozens. I agree the turnover was egregious, but turnovers happen. The way the group reacted after the puck was turned over is as important as the turnover itself. It’s a choice to regroup and provide the necessary secondary effort to win a puck back, or defend your net, after the plays changes hands.
With that in mind, outside of Stolarz possibly coming up with a spectacular stop moving from east to west, it’s hard to place any blame on him in the following sequence:
Matthews establishes control for the Leafs in Ottawa’s zone off an entry. He moves the puck to William Nylander on the flank. From this point, Nylander is in great position and presented with three options to make a play: He could work a give-and-go down low off his left side, bump the play back to the point, or jump to the middle of the ice to attempt to direct a shot on net.
He chose to direct the play on net, but didn’t really get much on the shot. By the time Matthew Knies recovers possession and moves the play to Matthews below the goal line, both Adam Gaudette and Cozens are in proper position to defend below the hash marks for Ottawa.
Matthews turns the puck over to Gaudette and he bursts up ice with support from Cozens. Watch closely as both John Tavares and Nylander are easily outskated by the Senators forwards. Marner needed to either take the pass away or allow Stolarz the shooter, but does neither and the puck ends up in the back of the Leafs net.
When Cozens scored, the Senators looked to be in control of the outcome of the game. But Toronto still had over nine minutes left to potentially mount a comeback. This is what makes the following save even more important when I’m evaluating Stolarz’s contribution in Game 5:
Matthews, Knies and Marner are pressing for a goal and get caught up ice. Marner works to check back, but Matthews and Knies are so late with their offensive zone exit that they don’t enter the picture until Stolarz has already made a huge save on Stutzle. If this puck goes in the net it would have been curtains long before Ottawa scored into the empty net late in the game. It’s an example of Stolarz giving the Leafs a chance to come back late by not allowing that critical third goal against and making the crucial “next save.”
Let’s also not forget about the save Stolarz made on Tkachuk in the opening minute of the third period. How much different does everything I describe above look if he doesn’t make this stop to keep the score 1-0:
I think Berube is making the right call to not swap goalies in Game 6. In fact, barring injury, I think it’s Stolarz’s series to win. He’s given the Leafs a chance in every one of Games 1-5. Every goalie would like to have a shot or two back over the course of a series, and Stolarz is no exception. His 2.26 GAA and .899 save percentage aren’t spectacular statistics, but I have greater concerns about the Leafs than how Stolarz will handle Game 6.
Toronto’s star skaters have to be their best, most impactful, players at this time of year. Having to find a spark by changing out goaltenders doesn’t make sense. Stolarz hasn’t lost the net for the Toronto Maple Leafs with his play in this series.
