The Florida Panthers tried to mount a comeback on Monday night, but they couldn't finish the job. Paul Maurice and his Panthers lost Game 1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, falling down 1-0 in the series. The focus following the game is not on the loss, though. Everyone's thoughts are with former Florida goalie and current Maple Leafs star Anthony Stolarz.
Stolarz left Game 1 after taking multiple hits to the head, including one from Florida center Sam Bennett. The Maple Leafs goalie was hospitalized following Game 1. During his postgame press conference, Maurice took time to send a message to his former player.
“We're hopeful for Anthony and his health. We love that guy. And we hope he gets better real fast,” the Panthers head coach said, via Sportsnet.
Stolarz played for Florida during the 2023-24 season. He signed a one-year contract in July 2023. The veteran puck stopper mostly served as the backup netminder to Sergei Bobrovsky. In June 2024, Stolarz and the Panthers won the Stanley Cup over the Edmonton Oilers.
Article Continues Below“We had the good relationship,” Bobrovsky said of Stolarz before the series, via NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. “It was a good partnership last year, but (this series) is going to be good and it’s going to be fun. He’s a good goalie and going to be good challenge for us.”
Maurice addressed the lack of a penalty call on the hit on Stolarz, as well. He did not elaborate on whether he felt it should have been a penalty. He deferred to the on-ice official's decision when speaking about it postgame.
“The referee is standing right there when it happened. (The media) will do (its) thing, the league will do its thing, and I will coach the next game. Hopefully,” Maurice said about the play, via Sportsnet.
The Maple Leafs and Panthers hit the ice for Game 2 of this second-round series on Wednesday night in Toronto.