With the second game of a back-to-back against Columbus, the Maple Leafs have their goalie situation sorted after their emergency call-up on Monday.
Monday night finally came with some positives for the Maple Leafs. Not only did they get the win against San Jose, but managed to only let one goal get past them, got Sergei Bobrovsky his first home victory, and Gavin McKenna proved that he's got that dog in him too.
But now they head back on the road to Columbus and take on Matthew Knies for the first time since trading him, and the former Leaf has a lot to say to his old teammates when they come into town.
Toronto has Stolarz in net with a Playoff MVP backing him up
Though with the team having a back-to-back, they are going to need to make sure they have the proper personnel in the lineup and that starts in net. Bobrovsky was solid, but pushing him to travel and start against Columbus is a tall order even for him.
Which is why the Maple Leafs made the right call, because not only is Anthony Stolarz travelling to Columbus to be the starter, but so too will Artur Akhtyamov after being an emergency call-up yesterday.
The team is leaving Bobrovsky in Toronto and considering they play Thursday at home, it gives him a chance to keep his routine and rest with ample time. It seems to be part of the new plan that Andy O'Brien and the Sport Performance Department have in mind for the Leafs players, and it could work out in spades.
Anthony Stolarz needs to put on a vintage performance vs. Columbus
Though Toronto hasn't put out their official lineup for the night, it's undoubtedly Stolarz's game to start and he'll have a lot to prove after his last game against Utah. This season he has a 2-1-0 record but holds a 3.32 GAA and .875 SV% so while he's over .500 - the counting stats and eye test show a struggle so far.
Granted, part of that is due to his defense not being as strong as they need to be but he did let in several soft goals against the Mammoth and needs to prove he can be better. He admitted as much so you can believe he's extra motivated to get the win tonight.
Toronto needs him to put together a 2024-25 performance on Tuesday night as the team can't afford to come off a huge win and fall flat. Stolarz needs to make the saves he needs to make, and has to pray his blue line gives him the same support they gave Bobrovsky last night.
If he can stand strong and shut down Knies and some of the other powerhouses on the Blue Jackets, then we could be looking at two in a row for the Maple Leafs with the surprisingly solid Rangers coming into town Thursday.
Which is where Bobrovsky steps back in and hopefully shuts the door to make it a trio of wins to put Toronto back on track.
Do you think Anthony Stolarz will play better against the Blue Jackets than he did against Utah?
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Matthew Knies sends warning shot at the Leafs ahead of first matchup since trade