Anthony Stolarz credits Maple Leafs’ tenacity for sparking historic comeback

It wasn’t pretty, but the Toronto Maple Leafs, led by their last line of defense in goaltender Anthony Stolarz, enjoyed their first franchise comeback win after being down 3-0 entering the third period. 310 attempts, no wins. Attempt 311, finally, the win column.

Stolarz was by far the busier of the two goalies, especially early on when the Penguins were all over the Maple Leafs, outshooting Toronto 25-8 after the first two periods. Despite the 3-0 deficit, Stolarz was confident, if he could keep his team in the game long enough, their hard work would eventually pay off.

“Our tenacity on the forecheck, and our willingness to cycle the puck, go low to high,” Stolarz said postgame, when asked what spark his team’s comeback. “You know, the first goal was a good play, a good neutral zone read. The third and fourth goals, guys are just going to the net, going low to high, and making it tough on their goalie. You know, when we do that, I think we’re a hell of a hockey team.”

Auston Matthews got the Maple Leafs on the board early on in the first period, followed by William Nylander potting two, and Bobby McMann scoring the winner with just over six minutes remaining. While the goals weren’t necessarily the prettiest we’ll see from the Maple Leafs this season, Stolarz knows in order to grind out two points sometimes, you have to put your head down and outwork the opposing team.

“Yeah, it’s not up to our standard, myself included,” Stolarz said postgame. “You look at eight shots, and just kind of allow them to go east-west. We knew coming into the second intermission that we kind of had to wake up, put our feet down here in the third.”

The Maple Leafs’ netminder stopped 34 of 37 shots and battled throughout the night, regardless of the score. It was Stolarz’s willingness to keep his team in the game that allowed the Maple Leafs a chance to comeback against the pesky Penguins.

“To be able to score four goals in one period on that team, they’ve been clicking all year. They gave us a nice little push at the end, but I think our willingness to stay composed in that last minute. I mean Brando [Carlo] with some big blocks, ‘Tone [Matthews], so everyone chipping in, it was great to see in the third.”

Stolarz has played a ton to start the new season, and while he wasn’t happy with his own performance, along with the team’s in the first two periods, he credited his short memory for keeping his mindset exactly where it needed to be. “For me, you just forget about what happened and try to make the next save. This is a prime example that it doesn’t matter if the score is 3-0, 8-0, you’re just out there trying to make the next save. Try to keep the game as close as possible. That’s your job as a goalie.”

Stolarz did his job on Monday night against the Penguins, and it took awhile, but so did the rest of his teammates in front of him. Character win for the Maple Leafs, and hopefully for Leafs Nation, this sparks a big week in front of the home crowd.