Anthony Stolarz of the Maple Leafs gets hit in the throat by a puck during warmups

Maple Leafs Goalie Injured During Warm-Ups

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz couldn’t participate in Saturday’s match against the Senators in Ottawa after an unfortunate incident where a puck hit him in the throat during warm-ups.

He was taken to the hospital for precautionary imaging but was released later, as reported by NHL.com.

Coach Craig Berube mentioned he didn’t have any updates on Stolarz’s condition following the team’s 5-2 defeat, though he noted that Stolarz intends to rejoin the team on their flight back to Toronto.

With Stolarz sidelined, Joseph Wall stepped in as the starting goalie. He had just faced 36 shots in an overtime loss to the Hurricanes the day before, but unfortunately, he conceded five goals in this game, which was quite one-sided.

William Nylander, the forward responsible for the shot that injured Stolarz, shared his thoughts on the bizarre incident post-game, stating he had spoken to the goalie and that he seemed to be alright.

“It’s definitely tough to see something like that occur,” Nylander commented. “I usually catch the puck in my glove and shoot, but this time it went just a bit off target and hit him in the neck. I was really worried, but I’ve been in touch with him, and he seems to be okay.”

Stolarz, who is 32 years old, holds an 8-9-3 record with an .894 save percentage over 22 games this season (21 starts). This season marks his second with the Maple Leafs, after serving as a backup during the Panthers’ Stanley Cup run in 2024.

Last season, he played only 34 games due to knee surgery. He’s under a four-year, $15 million contract and is expected to stay with the Maple Leafs until at least the election period of 2029-2030.

Stolarz has been dealing with a series of injuries that have hampered him recently, having already missed 33 games this season due to an upper-body injury.

Currently, the Maple Leafs hold a record of 29-29-13, sitting 13 points behind the Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Their next matchup will be against the Bruins in Boston on Tuesday night.