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Maple Leafs Coach Assigns Blame for Anthony Stolarz's Injury

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated May 6, 2025 5:16 AM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs held off the Florida Panthers for a 5-4 Game 1 victory on Monday in a series-opener marked by controversy.

Toronto's win was overshadowed by an incident in the second period that ended up with Leafs' starting goalie Anthony Stolarz in the hospital.

Panthers' Sam Bennett hit Stolarz in the head at 7:20 of the second period, and, although play stopped, no penalty was called.

Stolarz remained in the game briefly, but vomited on the bench during a timeout and left for the locker room midway through the second frame. He was taken from Scotiabank Arena by stretcher and later transported to a hospital for evaluation.

"Elbow to the head... clear as day."

Craig Berube on Sam Bennett's hit on Anthony Stolarz. pic.twitter.com/VD3KuC7jud
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 6, 2025

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube was direct when asked about the hit and didn't hesitate to call out what happened on Bennett's action.

“Elbow to the head, clearly. Clear as day,” Berube said. “I’m not sure why there’s not a call on it. I get it, they miss calls. But it’s clearly a penalty.”

Berube said Stolarz was being evaluated and declined to provide further updates.

"He is being evaluated," Berube said. "That is all I have for you on Stolarz. I wouldn’t keep commenting on it."

When asked whether the team would push for supplemental discipline on Bennett, Berube said the decision was up to the league.

Update: Anthony Stolarz likely suffered a first #comcussion 5 minutes into the game when he took a puck to face that knocked his mask off.
25 seconds after the hit he did a SHAAKE (Spontaneous Headshake after a Kinematic Event) which predicts concussion 72% of the time. https://t.co/HfiBmJSnKV pic.twitter.com/M8DFcAtWyB
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) May 6, 2025

Florida head coach Paul Maurice took a different stance when questioned postgame, sounding candid first but later fuming about the repeated questions on the play.

“Not nearly as good as the referee’s vantage point. He was standing right there. He saw it,” Maurice said.

When asked again, Maurice cut off the follow-up.

“You’re all going to light your hair on fire, and I’m going to let you. I’ve answered one on it,” Maurice said. “You’ll do your thing, the league will do its thing, and I’ll coach the next game, hopefully.”

Stolarz stopped eight of nine shots before exiting. Joseph Woll entered in relief, making 17 saves on 20 shots as Toronto held off a late push by Florida.

Game 2 will take place Wednesday night in Toronto before the series shifts to Florida for Games 3 and 4.

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

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