NEW YORK — Through Simon Benoit’s five seasons with Anthony Stolarz, he has seen a lot and heard even more.
That’s because the Toronto Maple Leafs goalie is the most vocal goalie Benoit has skated in front of. And what he hears is a lot of what the Leafs need right now as the playoffs approach: urgency.
“Oh, I’ve been yelled at a few times,” Benoit said, smiling. “But (Stolarz) is an emotional guy. And sometimes if he gives me a whack because I’m not in the right spot, it helps my game, too.”
Stolarz not only talks the talk but walks the walk, as evidenced in a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers on Friday.
The Leafs had no business winning against a desperate-looking Rangers team, were it not for Stolarz. They couldn’t even muster half the shots the Rangers did (35-17) and relied heavily upon Stolarz, far and away their best player. He outduelled all-world Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin on the road with the blend of athleticism and composure he has displayed all season.
The Leafs came up against the kind of urgency they should expect from whoever they play in the first round. Getting this kind of performance from Stolarz was a reminder that a Leafs goalie can steal a game in the postseason.
“Oh, gosh, Stolie. He was on fire,” William Nylander said.
“Stolie stood on his head all game,” Matthew Knies said.
buzzer beater save through traffic pic.twitter.com/IsLspQhYM5
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 1, 2025
With another stellar performance, Stolarz found himself in sole possession of the league lead in save percentage, just ahead of Connor Hellebuyck. Yes, Stolarz has played in less than half the games Hellebuyck has. But that shouldn’t discount how important he and fellow Leafs goalie Joseph Woll have been to the Leafs’ Stanley Cup playoff hopes.
The Leafs find themselves in a brave new world with one of the best goaltending duos in the NHL. The Leafs’ .903 team save percentage is seventh best in the league. It would probably be even higher if not for the six games Dennis Hildeby had to play.
“I can’t say enough good things about our goaltenders,” Jake McCabe said. “It’s good s—.”
Stolarz has played 21 games this season and has made 30 or more saves in nine of those starts. Not only is he making stretch saves and covering the net when he needs to, but he has also added what McCabe calls an “extra layer of comfort” behind the Leafs.
That’s comfort the Leafs haven’t always had. It wasn’t uncommon to see the likes of Ilya Samsonov, Jack Campbell or even Frederik Andersen let games quickly get away from them. That’s not the case with Stolarz and Woll this season.
“There’s going to be times where you don’t make a play that you are happy with,” McCabe said. “You turn the puck over, it happens to everybody, and (Stolarz and Woll) are there to bail us out. It kind of minimizes those mistakes, if you will. It’s easier to move on — versus if I’m giving up pizzas and they end up in the back of my net, I’m not feeling great about my game.”
Stolarz gets his right leg on the shot pic.twitter.com/e7tyTrIHp1
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 1, 2025
It’s not just comfort the Leafs get with their goaltending. It’s heightened vocal energy when they need it.
The Leafs will tell you that playing in front of Stolarz and Woll just feels different.
“(Stolarz) has always been vocal, but winning the (Stanley Cup) clearly gave him confidence to make those calls,” Benoit said. “He’s not shy with what he thinks. He won the Cup, right? So I’ll listen to him.”
Defensively, they can be such a confident-looking bunch even when their offensive game is lagging. The competitiveness often seen from the Leafs’ blue line is at least in part driven by their goaltenders.
In January, Leafs defenceman Conor Timmins told The Athletic that Woll was the most talkative goalie he has played in front of, “second to (Stolarz).”
Woll might err on the side of reassurance and support for a stellar play from his blue line.
And Stolarz?
“If there’s a guy backdoor, he’s shouting, ‘Backdoor!’ Or if he can’t see the shooter, you’ll hear, ‘F—ing move!’ That helps him, and it helps me. Because on breakouts, he’ll tell me if there’s someone on my blind side,” Benoit said.
“(Stolarz) definitely gives it to us when we’re not working, and rightfully so. There were times this game when we weren’t moving our feet, we weren’t helping him out,” Knies said. “It fires me up. It makes me motivated to block shots and help him out as much as possible.”
What’s even more remarkable than how well Stolarz is playing is that there’s a chance he won’t be the Leafs’ Game 1 playoff starter. Woll was slated to start against the Rangers, continuing the back-to-back goalie rotation Craig Berube prefers right now. But an illness forced out Woll, giving Stolarz the keys to the net.
It’s probably too early for the Leafs to tell definitively who their Game 1 starter will be. But that’s sort of the point here: They have two capable goalies who sit toward the top of the league in save percentage, which will allow them to feel confident regardless of whom they turn to.
“You know that if you keep chances to the outside, 99 percent of them are going to get stopped,” Benoit said of his goaltending. “That’s our main goal, and he makes our job easier.”
Woll’s .910 save percentage is 15th in the NHL and ahead of starters such as Shesterkin, Jake Oettinger and Ilya Sorokin.
When was the last time the Leafs had two goaltenders who were producing strong results and capable of starting a playoff game? If we’re looking at the current Leafs core, it’s difficult to argue they’ve had the solidity in goal that Stolarz and Woll provide: Only once since 2016 has a Leafs team ranked higher in league-wide save percentage. In 2017-18, the Leafs’ .917 save percentage was fifth best in the NHL. But Andersen played 66 games that season. That number feels astronomically high in today’s “tandem or bust” line of thinking around goalies. Behind Andersen was Curtis McElhinney, a classic veteran backup. His numbers were impressive (.934 save percentage, three shutouts), but with just 18 games played, McElhinney was never going to start a playoff game.
You could make a case that Andersen was also worn out come playoff time. His save percentage sank to .896 over seven playoff games that spring against the Boston Bruins.
What feels evident is that this Leafs core has never had as solid of a goaltending duo playing behind them. Even in the days of Campbell and Andersen, it was difficult to feel sold on their abilities to stay in games and battle difficult mental stretches.
Yes, there will probably be concerns about the health of Stolarz and Woll for the remainder of the season. But when they’re healthy — which they are right now with less than a week until the trade deadline — they present Leafs management with a window of opportunity.
The Leafs are getting the goaltending they’ve long lacked ahead of the playoffs: Could the solidity they’re getting between the pipes force Brad Treliving to keep that window wide-open and swing for big additions at the deadline?
With both of Treliving’s goalies playing well and Matt Murray available if needed, Treliving likely won’t have to spend draft picks to acquire goaltending help. Those are midrange draft picks that could be packaged to acquire serious help at centre and the blue line.
Beyond that, Leafs management undoubtedly sees its window to win a Stanley Cup is open. It’s the goaltenders keeping that window pried wide, so wouldn’t it make sense to strike now and acquire big pieces instead of tinkering around the edges?
In 2022-23, the team’s save percentage was .909, 10th in the NHL. It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that the year the Leafs got some of their better recent goaltending was also the year Kyle Dubas went all in with the acquisitions of Ryan O’Reilly and McCabe.
Even though Treliving isn’t known for making big swings at the deadline, it’s worth considering whether Stolarz’s and Woll’s play could make him change his habits. Treliving has goaltending options that many NHL teams desire. Building up his team around those goaltenders by adding one of the more notable trade deadline pieces is starting to appear more and more feasible.
Bigger picture: Goaltending is fickle. Things can change wildly from season to season. Yes, the Leafs are getting incredible goaltending this season, but there’s no guarantee they’ll get the same results from Stolarz and Woll next season.
Stolarz’s Friday win was a reminder of how bright the lightning in a bottle is that the Leafs seem to have captured with their goaltending. We’ll know in less than a week how much the Leafs plan to capitalize on the incredible seasons Stolarz and Woll are having.
(Photo of Anthony Stolarz: Wendell Cruz / Imagn Images)
