With only two games remaining in the regular season, the Toronto Maple Leafs looked poised to win the Atlantic Division for the first time since the 1999-2000 season—that's if we discount the all-Canadian division in 2020.
If the Leafs take home the Atlantic Division title, it won’t come without some career years from their best players, including Mitch Marner, who’s two points away from breaking the 100-point mark for the first time in his career while also being one of Toronto’s best defensive stalwarts all season. William Nylander has a career-high in goals this season with 44; John Tavares has been one of the league’s hottest players since the NHL returned from its 4 Nations break, as he has the third most goals with 16 in the league since. Matthew Knies has quickly developed into one of the league’s best power forwards, who is one goal away from 30 and has 55 points on the campaign.
The debate for the Leafs’ regular season MVP runs deep, but a candidate that should get more consideration is Anthony Stolarz. Yes, Stolarz has only played in 33 games this season, mostly due to the fact that he suffered a knee injury last December that kept him out of action for little over a month, but in the 33 games Stolarz has taken the crease for the Leafs this season, he has been nothing but excellent.
Anthony Stolarz: Elite in The Crease
Stolarz currently sports the fourth-best goals-against average and the second-best save percentage, which he has locked down for most of the season. Even under Leafs head coach Craig Berube’s defensive-oriented system, the Leafs have still given up the 16th most shots on goal this season, according to MoneyPuck.com. It shows that being a Leaf netminder hasn’t been the easiest gig in the league, but it hasn’t fazed Stolarz.
According to NaturalStatTrick, Stolarz has a 0.78 high-danger goals against average and a 0.871 high-danger save percentage. Both are good enough for second-best in the league, only behind Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy. Stolarz’s elite high-danger goals against average numbers suggest that nothing fazes him; it indicates that he’s a clutch performer, something that will most certainly pay off when he starts in Game 1 of the playoffs for the Leafs in a week.
Stolarz has bailed out his defense all season, and it doesn’t matter if those chances are point-blank; with his big frame and cat-like reflexes, nothing seems to faze him. In Stolarz’s first season with the Leafs, he’s brought an element to the crease that we haven’t seen from Leaf netminders of the past; he’s very outspoken on the ice, as you can hear him demanding his teammates in front of him, it’s almost like having a third defenseman out there, just with pads and a goalie stick.
Limited games aside, Stolarz’s play and presence to this Leafs team should not be taken for granted; he’s consistently been the backbone of this team all season. Even when defensive stalwarts like Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe have been out due to injury, it didn’t faze Stolarz, who’s felt like that commanding presence of excellence ever since he’s worn that Maple Leaf crest on his chest.