$76,000,000 star D-man makes his thoughts clear on Sam Bennett's hit on Anthony Stolarz

By Zachary Roberts

Modified May 06, 2025 15:56 GMT

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Sam Bennett collided with Anthony Stolarz in front of the net during Monday night's playoff game. It ended up sending Stolarz out of the game and into the hospital, and his status moving forward is up in the air.

Florida Panthers' $76 million defenseman Seth Jones saw the hit happen and made his feelings known about it. He isn't one to condone violence and hopes that the Maple Leafs' goalie won't miss time, but these things happen in hockey.

He said:

"We hope Stolarz is okay, obviously, it was a bang-bang play in front of the net."

Jones had a power-play goal from distance that he slotted past Stolarz in the first period. With a few minutes remaining and well before Stolarz had to leave the game, Jones took a pass from Matthew Tkachuk and whistled a shot into the back of the net.

After Stolarz left, the Panthers poured on three more goals in the third period, but it wasn't enough. The Toronto Maple Leafs, even with their backup goalie, won by a single goal to take a 1-0 lead.

It is not expected that Sam Bennett will be suspended for his hit on Stolarz, and there's no indication of how the goalie will be for the next game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Maple Leafs goalie discusses loss of Anthony Stolarz

Before the season, Joseph Woll was the top goalie. Former Florida Panthers star Anthony Stolarz was his backup. When he went down in preseason, Stolarz stepped up and took the job and never really looked back.

Joseph Woll replaced Anthony Stolarz (Imagn)

Now, Woll is back in his place thanks to the injury to Stolarz. When he went down, Woll was pressed into action. He said via NHL:

“You kind of feel a mix of things, between concern for him and getting ready to play yourself. I mean, when you see your teammate go down like that, I mean, it’s not good when you see him go down on the ice. Or when he’s not feeling good coming to the bench."

He added:

“You know, these guys are trying to create a family atmosphere here in [the dressing room]. So it’s just like one of my family members.”

The goalie said he "never" wants to see a teammate in pain like Stolarz was following the Sam Bennett hit.