For the first time in the Matthews-Marner era, and the first time since 2002, the Toronto Maple Leafs are up 2-0 in a playoff series.
Max Domi fired home the overtime winner in game two, Morgan Rielly and John Tavares have each registered two goals in two games, and the Leafs have nine goals through the first two games in this year's postseason, after just scoring twelve times in seven games last year.
Most Toronto Maple Leafs players are having solid starts to the playoffs, but one player, as he's done all season long, has stood out as the team's true MVP.
That would be Anthony Stolarz, who has continued his terrific regular season into the playoffs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs' True MVP
Who knows where the team would be without Stolarz (and Joseph Woll, for that matter). When Brad Treliving signed Anthony Stolarz last summer, many envisioned him forming a solid tandem with Woll. Both goalies had success in minimal roles at the NHL level, but only in small sample sizes. Both have proven to be more than capable starters this season.
But Stolarz has arguably been a top-five goalie in the NHL this year, along with Hellebuyck, Thompson, Kuemper, and Vasilevski. When was the last time one could truly say the Leafs had a goalie this good?
Stolarz led the NHL in SV% and finished third in GAA this season, and yes it was in a smaller sample size (34 games) compared to the likes of a Connor Hellebuyck, for example, but Stolarz is proving so far in the playoffs that it was no fluke.
Despite being heavily outshot and outplayed at times by the Ottawa Senators, the Leafs find themselves up 2-0 in the series. Part of this is due to their strong power play and strong quality of shots, but Stolarz has played a massive part in the team's success.
The Leafs have forever seemed to be the team to get "goalied" come playoff time, and have played a Vezina-winning goalie in 9/10 playoff series since the beginning of the Matthews-Marner era, including battling Linus Ullmark this season and last.
But Stolarz is flipping the script on that storyline, giving the Leafs some of the strongest goaltending they've had in years. Backed by a .934 SV% to start the playoffs, and winning his last ten games going back to the regular season, Stolarz has easily been the team's top player so far.
Apart from games five and six last year, where Joseph Woll outdueled Jeremy Swayman, the Leafs have really only played in one series in the Matthews era where their goalie outplayed the other, and that was in 2023, where Ilya Samsonov helped the team to their first playoff series win since 2004.
The buds are hoping for another series win this time around, with Stolarz leading the charge in net. Let's see if their 2024-25 MVP can keep it up for the remainder of the series, and hopefully lead the team even further than round one.