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Maple Leafs' Anthony Stolarz Reveals Details of Devastating Game 1 Injury

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Michael Gallagher | Last updated May 20, 2025 2:32 PM ET

Had the Toronto Maple Leafs had starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz healthy for the entire second-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers, they might have had a different outcome.

Despite jumping out to a 2-0 series lead, the wheels fell off for Toronto in four of its next five games as the defending Stanley Cup champions stormed back and dispatched of the Maple Leafs in seven games.

Stolarz was knocked out of Game 1 after taking an elbow to the head from Panthers forward Sam Bennett. After exiting the game, Stolarz was seen vomiting on the bench, and he was taken to the hospital during the third period to further evaluation.

During exit interviews on Tuesday, Stolarz admitted that the blow from Bennett did give him a concussion, and he never fully recovered in time to try and help the Leafs save their season.

“No, I don’t think [the injury was because of the puck off the helmet],” Stolarz said. “I’ve taken a lot of pucks off my helmet in my career and felt fine. The way I felt after that, it was what, another 45 minutes and I didn’t feel anything. After [the Bennett] hit is when I started feeling the symptoms.”

Stolarz told reporters that the hospital visit was simply precautionary and that he actually started feeling better after he went to the locker room. He also disclosed that much of his symptoms started going away later that night but he wasn’t cleared by doctors to return during the series.

While many were quick to start personally attacking Bennett on social media for causing the injury, Stolarz says he harbors no ill will toward him and he believes the incident to have been an accident.

“No, I don’t think there was any malicious intent on his part,” Stolarz added. “Not just [Bennett] but that entire team, they play hard and I think it was just one of those things — it’s the playoffs and he’s in the moment and he wants to score a goal for his team and I’m doing my best to try to keep the puck out of the net. It was just one of those things where he just caught me in a bad spot.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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