Maple Leafs Want NHL Rule Change After Scary Anthony Stolarz Moment

The play continued under a little-known rule that allows officials to let action proceed if there’s an imminent scoring chance, which they deemed to be the case.

“It’s not like goalies are trying to knock our helmets off. Without the buckle, you can’t really see the puck or track it. As soon as you move your head, it falls off," Stolarz said. “Hopefully, the league can look at it, talk to some goalies or people who have knowledge of the position, and we can come to some sort of compromise where our safety isn’t put at risk."

Stolarz said he was simply reacting in the moment, seeing the play kept on going.

“Just trying to be a competitor and slide across,” Stolarz said. “Obviously, it’s not an ideal situation. But at that stage of the game, you’re just trying to do anything to keep the puck out of the net.”

His teammates, starting with Matthew Knies, were visibly shaken by the play.

“I was a little scared, to be honest,” Knies said. “I thought it was supposed to be blown dead. It was a shocker for sure.”

Auston Matthews admitted he didn’t even know the rule existed.

“Thankfully, it didn’t hit him there. I was completely unaware of the rule. I thought the second the helmet’s off, I mean, the play’s gotta be dead with no helmet on,” Matthews said.

William Nylander called the sequence “crazy” and the situation "dangerous."

“I mean, that’s so dangerous. Like, it should be blown off right away,” Nylander said. “I guess you could argue that sometimes a goalie could maybe try to shake his helmet off or whatever, but I think that’s pretty dangerous.”

Toronto head coach Craig Berube agreed the rule should be reconsidered to prevent such scenarios.

“Your goalie loses his mask, he’s in a very vulnerable position,” Berube said. “In my opinion, blow it down.”

With the win, the Maple Leafs improved to a 3-2-0 record on the season and are tied for the third-most points in the Eastern Conference with six in five games. Toronto will host the Seattle Kraken at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.