Anthony Stolarz keeps it real about Maple Leafs' inability to breach through Rangers' Igor Shesterkin in 4-1 loss

By ARJUN B

Modified Oct 20, 2024 12:52 GMT

The Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the New York Rangers 4-1 on Saturday night at the Scotiabank Arena. The Rangers have now won three games in a row to improve to 4-0-1 on the young season.

Chris Kreider (two goals), Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin scored for the Rangers, while the Leafs got one from Auston Matthews. In net, the Rangers' Igor Shesterkin stopped 34 of 35 shots faced, while Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz made 25 saves.

After the game, Stolarz praised Shesterkin:

"We had numerous chances, and, you know, you can see why he’s going to be the highest-paid goalie in the league. He came up big for them tonight, and, you know, hats off to him."

Shesterkin is in his final year of his four-year contract and is anticipated to secure a substantial contract extension (according to ESPNs Kevin Weekes). Despite the loss, Stolarz was upbeat about his team's performance.

"I thought it was a great effort tonight, kind of a playoff-style game against a really good team and someone we’re going to see a lot down the road," he said.

The Maple Leafs will look to rebound on Monday night when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Maple Leafs' Anthony Stolarz lost his blade

The Maple Leafs' Anthony Stolarz lost his blade at the end of the second period in a scary on-ice incident. Unable to get up or move properly, Stolarz was helpless as the play continued at the other end of the ice.

Stolarz looked distressed as he talked to the referee during the play, but the referee didn't blow the play dead despite the dangerous situation. Later, Stolarz voiced his frustration over the lack of a whistle:

"Ah, why isn’t he blowing the whistle? ... If it’s an imminent scoring chance, I understand it, but the puck was at the other end ... I didn’t do it on purpose. At the end of the day, it’s about player safety."

In another play, Stolarz had a scare as he felt an opponent's skate blade go into his pad. He admitted that it brought back memories of an injury in the juniors that required stitches:

"I looked down & saw a skate inside my pad. ... I wear those cut-proof socks. I had an incident back in juniors so maybe a little PTSD there. I didn’t know if I felt anything or if it was the adrenaline again, so I just kind of wanted to make sure there wasn’t any cut."

Fortunately, Stolarz emerged unharmed but rattled from these frightening incidents.