Maple Leafs survive loss of Stolarz, beat Panthers in Game 1
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The Maple Leafs persevered on Monday night.
In doing so, they beat the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the second round.
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Maple Leafs survive loss of Stolarz, beat Panthers in Game 1 Back to video
After building an early lead and enduring the loss of starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz, the gutsy Leafs hung on and won 5-4 at Scotiabank Arena.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series goes on Wednesday night in Toronto.
William Nylander sparkled for the Leafs in the first period, tying a Leafs playoff record with three points.
The departure of Stolarz midway through the second period hung in the air as the game progressed, but Joseph Woll, in his first appearance since the regular-season finale on April 17, did enough to help get the Leafs to the finish line.
Woll finished with 17 saves.
Matthew Knies scored the winning goal when he beat Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky on a breakaway with six minutes remaining in the third period.
With one minute 55 seconds left and Bobrovsky on the bench, a Sam Bennett shot went in off the stick of the Leafs’ Brandon Carlo.
The Panthers had cut the Leafs’ lead to 4-3 on goals by Eetu Luostarinen and Uvis Balinskis in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the third.
Stolarz left the game not long after he was knocked in the head by Bennett. Stolarz initially stayed in the game after Bennett bumped him, but departed after he appeared to get sick at the Leafs bench.
No penalty was called on Bennett on the play.
“Elbow to the head,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said after the game. “Clear as day. (Supplementary discipline is) not up to me, that’s up to the league. They’ll do what they think is necessary on that play. That’s not for me to comment on. That’s their job and they’ll do it.”
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The Leafs announced at the start of the third period that Stolarz remained under evaluation and would not return to the game. Dennis Hildeby, the Leafs’ third goalie, made his way to the bench not long after the third period got underway.
Berube wouldn’t confirm that Stolarz being evaluated at hospital, following reports he was loaded onto a stretcher before leaving the rink.
“Right now, he is just being evaluated,” Berube said.
Said Panthers coach Paul Maurice to reporters: “This is what’s going to happen: You’re going to all light your hair on fire and I’m going to let you. The referee (Chris Rooney) is standing right there when it happened. And then you will do your thing and the league will do its thing and I’ll coach the next game.”
Chris Tanev scored the only goal of the second period when his knuckler took a bounce and skipped past Bobrovsky at 7:50.
Nylander tied a Leafs post-season mark for most points in a period when he scored two goals and had an assist in the first 20 minutes.
The third point came on a terrific saucer pass to Morgan Rielly, who got the puck at the Toronto blue-line and broke down the ice on a 2-on-1 with John Tavares. Rielly kept and beat Bobrovsky on the short side at 17:16 to restore a two-goal Leafs lead.
Rielly’s goal was the 14th of his career in the playoffs, the most in Leafs history by a defenceman. Rielly passed Ian Turnbull, who had 13 goals in the playoffs for Toronto in his career.
That came just 19 seconds after a shot by Panthers defenceman Seth Jones eluded Stolarz high on the blocker side during a Florida power play.
Nylander’s second goal, at 12:51 of the first, came off a fat rebound on a shot by Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Nylander escaped the notice of the Panthers, picked up the puck and deked to his forehand. Down on one knee, Nylander lifted the puck over Bobrovsky for a 2-0 lead.
Nylander got the crowd into it early, scoring 33 seconds into the game when he beat Bobrovsky between the legs from a tough angle. A battle between Tavares and Jones provided a screen in front of Bobrovsky.
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