As if the injury news for the Toronto Maple Leafs couldn’t get any worse, it unfortunately just did for them on a Saturday evening.
The Maple Leafs, who are already without the services of team captain Auston Matthews for the remainder of the season, have now lost goaltender Anthony Stolarz yet again.
During the pre-game warmup before this evening’s game against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre, Stolarz was injured when a shot from a teammate struck him up high.
He immediately left the ice, and the Maple Leafs have announced that he’s been taken to a local hospital to have precautionary imaging testing done.
“Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz left warmups tonight in Ottawa after taking a puck to the throat and has been taken to hospital for precautionary imaging,” the Maple Leafs announced via X. “An update will be provided when available.”
In his limited action this season, Stolarz has put together an 8-9-3 record while posting a pedestrian 3.34 goals-against average, a .894 save percentage, and he’s yet to record his first shutout.
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Maple Leafs Goaltender Anthony Stolarz Was Sent To the Hospital
Because Stolarz has been sent to the hospital for further testing, it’s obvious that this injury wasn’t something like a “stinger” or something that could simply be just shaken off.
Goaltender Joseph Woll, who was slated to back up Stolarz against the Senators, has instead been forced into starting action. Like Stolarz, Woll have missed multiple games because of an injury this season.
Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, Stolarz had missed several weeks earlier in the season with what was later revealed to be a nerve injury he initially suffered on November 11 against the Boston Bruins.
In January, Stolarz revealed the nature of the injury which required additional time to fully heal before he could get back to the ice with the rest of his teammates.
“I had to kind of let it settle down a little bit,” Stolarz said. “It’s not like a bruise where it goes away. It was just something that I just kind of had to let heal on its own. And, you know, it just took a little while.”
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The Maple Leafs Will Be Forced To Use An Emergency Goaltender
Because Stolarz was injured during warmups and has been sent to the hospital for further testing, Joseph Woll was forced to get the start.
However, because the Maple Leafs did not have a third goaltender with them, they will now be forced to use the services of a designated emergency goaltender, or EBUG.
Coincidently, the Maple Leafs were involved in perhaps the most famous use of an EBUG in recent NHL history during a game in early 2020 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes lost both of their goaltenders to injury, and David Ayres, who was employed as a Zamboni driver for the Maple Leafs, was named the emergency goaltender and later proceeded to pick up the victory for Carolina against the team that signs his paychecks.
He did allow two goals, but made eight saves and was credited with the victory for Carolina.
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