The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their starting goaltender, Anthony Stolarz, for the second game of their series against the Florida Panthers. Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube confirmed that Stolarz is recovering from a head injury sustained during Game 1, as reported by Chris Johnston of The Athletic.
During Toronto`s 5-4 win on Monday, Stolarz took two significant impacts to the head. The first occurred early in the game when Panthers forward Sam Reinhart`s powerful wrist shot, clocked at 82 mph, knocked Stolarz`s helmet completely off.
Stolarz appeared visibly shaken by the shot but initially remained in the game.
In the second period, while competing for a loose puck near the net, Florida center Sam Bennett`s elbow made contact with Stolarz`s head. The Maple Leafs netminder immediately went down holding his head but continued playing briefly afterwards.
However, during the subsequent television timeout, Stolarz became ill on the bench and required transportation to the hospital for further assessment.
In his post-game comments, coach Berube stated that Bennett`s elbow contact was “clear as day.” The next morning at practice, Berube reflected on how such a play would have been handled differently in previous eras of hockey.
“When I played, somebody would`ve did something right away,” Berube remarked. “Probably me, if I was out there.”
No penalty was called on Bennett during the game for the contact, and the NHL will not issue any supplementary discipline. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Bennett, a former teammate of Stolarz, stated there was no force or intent behind the collision.
“Looking back the video, I mean the contact that was made was, in my opinion, it`s really just a bump,” Bennett said. “There is no forceful action. I`m trying to score. The last thing on my mind is thinking about elbowing him in the head. When it happened, I didn`t even realize I made contact.”
Joseph Woll is set to start Game 2 in Stolarz`s absence. After taking over for Stolarz in Game 1, Woll allowed three goals on 20 shots as the Panthers attempted a late third-period comeback.
Torin Vale 
Elton Marrow