Leafs HC Craig Berube makes his feelings known on Anthony Stolarz's barehanded save

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Nov 09, 2024 06:26 GMT

During Friday’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings, goalie Anthony Stolarz made an amazing save. In the third period, he lost his stick but stopped a shot with his bare hand.

After the game, Toronto coach Craig Berube was asked about the Anthony Stolarz save.

“I don’t know how he lost his stick but he had another good one for us,” Berube said.

Berube was also asked about his team’s overall play.

“We're competing and hanging on to pucks but just didn't get a lot of clean looks tonight and you're going to have games like that so it was great by the guys just hanging in there and not opening it up not exposing anything just keep playing,” he said.

Berube also praised the Leafs' third line, calling them “excellent" and noted that they skated well, competed for pucks and got the puck to the net, despite a controversial moment involving a goalie contact.

"I thought they were excellent, yeah. I mean the first goal he touched the goalie's um head, I think a little bit, but that line was really good," he said.

Berube also noted that the power play had become simpler and was attacking more effectively and added that these adjustments helped the team maintain their offensive flow.

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Anthony Stolarz and Maple Leafs beat the Red Wings

John Tavares led the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings in the Hockey Hall of Fame game on Friday.

Tavares scored two goals, including a power-play goal in the second period that put Toronto ahead. Mitch Marner extended his point streak to seven games with a goal and an assist. Morgan Rielly also had two assists. Goalie Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves, including a key stop in the third period to keep the lead.

Coach Craig Berube praised Marner’s all-around play, especially his defense and strong penalty killing.

“(Mitch) does a lot for us, defensively and penalty killing he’s been excellent,” Berube said (via NHL.com). “He’s a guy that reads the play really well, anticipates, breaks plays up with his stick. There’s a lot of good there with him [lately] all around.”

Despite strong defense, Detroit struggled to capitalize on opportunities. Dylan Larkin scored for the Red Wings, but goalie Cam Talbot made only 17 saves, yet the team couldn’t convert in crucial moments.

Late in the game, Tavares sealed the win with an empty-net goal after intercepting a pass from Moritz Seider.