Maple Leafs' Anthony Stolarz Explains Why He Decked Senators' Ridly Greig

When asked after Tuesday’s game if Stolarz had Greig in mind during the Game 2 confrontation, Stolarz dismissed the idea, saying he had no idea who he was bashing.

“I was just caught up in the heat of the battle,” Stolarz said. “I didn’t even know who it was.”

Stolarz, however, appeared to enjoy the moment.

“It’s just one of those things that didn’t matter. You’re in the heat of the moment,” Stolarz said smiling. "I’ve taken quite a few penalties in my day. That’s playoff hockey.”

The officials assessed minor penalties to both players: interference for Stolarz, roughing for Greig.

Toronto jumped to a 2–0 lead in Game 2 with goals from Morgan Rielly and John Tavares in the first period. Ottawa clawed back with a second-period power-play goal from Brady Tkachuk and a third-period equalizer from Adam Gaudette. 

Ultimately, Max Domi ended the affair 3:09 into overtime with a wrist-shot from the left circle assisted by Simon Benoit.

It's fair to say Stolarz has been central to Toronto’s early success in this Battle of Ontario. Stolarz made 33 saves in Game 1 and followed it with 26 more in Game 2, boasting a .928 save percentage across both contests.

Exiting Game 2, Stolarz has allowed just four goals on 61 shots through two games. Stozarz has the second-best SV% among goalies through Tuesday's slate, and has stopped the third-most shots (57) in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs.