The Toronto Maple Leafs finally broke their five-game losing streak by beating the St Louis Blues in overtime. But taking down a non-playoff contender in the extra frame does not end the concerns. Injuries are still the big storyline in The 6, with Auston Matthews among those injured. Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube had a negative update on goalie Anthony Stolarz's injury on Thursday, per Luke Fox of Sportsnet.
“Worse than we thought,” Berube said. “He’s not ready to get on the ice yet and do the things he has needed to do. Hopefully it’s soon. I really don't have a timetable for him. Maybe tomorrow he’ll be on the ice. I’m not sure.”
When the injury first happened against the Boston Bruins on November 11, Berube thought Stolarz could be available the next day. But he has not hit the ice since the injury. The Maple Leafs did get Joseph Woll back right in time for the Stolarz injury, but that has not papered over the starter's loss.
“Anthony had a real strong start,” general manager Brad Treliving said, per Fox. “I think the workload caught up to him. I think that he’d be the first to tell you, his game dropped a little bit. I think it’s tied a little bit into the number of starts he had, right? Our hope is that we get Anthony healthy. Got all the faith in the world in Anthony. Glad to see Joe back there. They’re a big part of our team, the tandem together and how they play off each other.”
The Maple Leafs need to get hot to get back in the playoff race. But that will be impossible with this many guys on the shelf. The early stages of this season were going to be important, as the team gets used to the post-Mitch Marner life. And the first quarter of the season has been dreadful.
