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Maple Leafs' Starting Goalie Forced to Miss Games With Injury Designation

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Dec 16, 2024 5:35 AM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without goaltender Anthony Stolarz for a few games after the team placed him on injured reserve on Sunday, as the franchise announced ahead of their game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Stolarz, who sustained a lower-body injury during Thursday’s 3–2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, will be forced to miss at least three games, per NHL rules regarding injured reserve.

The Leafs, however, made Stolarz's placement on IR retroactive to Thursday, meaning the game against the Red Wings played on Saturday was already factored into his three-game absence.

Stolarz was initially listed as "day-to-day" by the Leafs for the game against the Red Wings but the goalie's status worsened and Toronto decided to place him on IR while calling up Dennis Hildeby from their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

The Maple Leafs have placed G Anthony Stolarz on IR (lower body) retroactive to December 12.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) December 15, 2024

The 23-year-old Hildeby seized the opportunity after already appearing on two games at the start of the season in a similar situation.

Hildeby made his third NHL start on Sunday stopping 24 shots in the Leafs' 5-3 win over the Sabres. The victory marked a strong return for Hildeby, who had already been recalled in October because of a Joseph Woll injury.

John Tavares was the main catalyst in Toronto's win, recording a hat trick that included an empty-netter to seal the game.

While the Leafs await Stolarz’s return, they’ll rely on Hildeby and Woll to carry the load with both goalies splitting the back-to-back games played by Toronto and Woll supposedly starting on Wednesday at Dallas.

Sunday's win helped Toronto solidify its place atop the Atlantic Division with a 19-10-2 record and 40 total points, two above the second-place Florida Panthers.

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

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