Nylander: Stolarz has been 'amazing' in goal for Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander heaped praise upon Anthony Stolarz after the goaltender put forth another strong performance, including a stellar stop in a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.
"He's been amazing ... I mean, that might be one of the toughest saves of the year," Nylander said postgame, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "Insane save."
Stolarz scooped the puck off the goal line with the Lightning on a two-man advantage in the second period. He turned aside all but two of 34 shots in the Maple Leafs' victory.
"It's exciting, it kind of swings momentum our way," Stolarz told the media, including Sportsnet, when asked how it felt to make the save. "They (had) a 5-on-3 with an opportunity to swing and change things. But the crowd getting into it, I think it shattered (the Lightning) a little bit and just allowed us to kill it off."
Stolarz came into his first season with the Leafs as their backup goalie but was thrust into the starting role when Joseph Woll went down with an injury before the season opener.
The 30-year-old has started five of the club's six games this season (Dennis Hildeby got the other) as a result. Stolarz is now 3-2-0 with a .938 save percentage. He's allowed nine goals in that handful of contests.
Stolarz played in four other organizations before signing a two-year contract at $2.5 million annually with Toronto as an unrestricted free agent in July. He posted a .925 save percentage in 27 regular-season games with the Florida Panthers last year and appeared in one playoff contest en route to a Stanley Cup championship.
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