Anthony Stolarz shares confidence in Maple Leafs’ blue line after preseason debut

Anthony Stolarz got his first taste of preseason action on Saturday night, playing the first two periods of a 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

Speaking after the tune-up match, Stolarz shared his thoughts on shaking off the rust of the offseason.

“It felt good,” he said. “Obviously preseason is all about getting your reps in, getting familiar with the D again. Thought my puck touches were really good tonight, and the guys did a really good job of communicating with me. So just getting back on the same page was really nice.”

Now entering his second year with the Maple Leafs, Stolarz is well versed in the team’s blue line, which looks almost identical to last yeas. The 31-year-old shared that’s a big leg up in getting right back into the flow of things.

“I think it’s huge having that familiarity with each other,” he said “Just knowing what each guy likes, you know, how they pick it up, where they like the puck. We put a lot of emphasis on that this training camp, so it was good to see the results tonight.”

Backing up Stolarz on Saturday was Leafs goaltending prospect Artur Akhtyamov, who came in for the third period. Set to return to the Toronto Marlies this season, the 23-year-old still has a ways to go before making run at the Leafs roster. Still, Stolarz said Akhtyamov displayed what he can do and spoke on their relationship.

“He’s been great,” he said. “I love talking to Artie, he’s always asking questions. He’s a little, athletic guy, has really good hand-eye, moves really well. You can see tonight the athleticism was on display. I feel really happy for him to go out there and have a solid first period.”

It won’t be long until Stolarz faces the Canadiens again, as Toronto is set to host Montreal to kick off the regular season. Primed to be the Leafs starter for the time being with Woll’s absence, he spoke about the upcoming match and the long-standing dislike between the two teams.

“It’s definitely a rivalry, you could hear it in the stands tonight,” Stolarz said. “We’re looking forward to that season opener. It’s a passionate rivalry, and both teams are going to play hard out there.”

With both groups resting their top players for opposite games of their two preseason contests, October 8th will be the first look at what that rivalry will look like this season.