Arun Srinivasan

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Craig Berube on Sam Bennett’s hit on Anthony Stolarz: Elbow to the head. Clearly. Clearly. Clearly.

3:18 AM · May 6, 2025

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Here are five takeaways from Maple Leafs’ victory over the Panthers

• It’s impossible to discuss this game without bringing up Anthony Stolarz’s injury. Stolarz was elbowed in the head by Sam Bennett, then left the game shortly thereafter. Toronto’s starting goaltender threw up on the bench, and reportedly left the arena on a stretcher. It feels almost trivial to discuss Stolarz in the context of a hockey game, given the potential severity of the injury, but it’s clear the Maple Leafs are a more confident team with him between the pipes. Joseph Woll performed decently, but he’s clearly the inferior goaltender to Stolarz, and when he left the game, it swung the momentum back in the Panthers’ favour. Woll will almost certainly start Game 2, and could be the Maple Leafs’ starter for the duration of the playoffs. It was a true tandem set up during the regular season, before Stolarz pulled away with the playoff gig in the final weeks, and now Woll will once again be tasked with carrying an increased workload, as he did from December-February this season, when his teammate was recovering from a knee injury. It may be the greatest factor that determines the rest of the Maple Leafs’ postseason.
• William Nylander was the Maple Leafs’ best player overall — if you want to argue in favour of Matthew Knies or Chris Tanev, there won’t be much argument in this space — and he set the tone for the game, scoring 33 seconds into the contest. Nylander was a one-man shot-creation machine and was constantly looking for his linemates throughout the night. Max Pacioretty deserves ample credit as well, as he played with real menace and physicality throughout the game, delivering a punishing hit on Aleksander Barkov during the same shift where Nylander notched his second goal of the contest. Nylander narrowly missed a natural hat-trick on a first-period power play, then set up Morgan Rielly on the rush to restore a two-goal lead. He was hunting for his offence the entire night and considering that he was primarily defended by two Selke finalists in Barkov and Sam Reinhart and emerged with two goals at 5-on-5, it was an excellent performance from Toronto’s star winger.
• Sam Bennett has once again emerged as the villain in this series, two years removed from landing a hit on Matthew Knies, that rendered him concussed. Bennett made clear contact with Stolarz, and now it’s incumbent upon the NHL Department of Player Safety to take a look at the play in question. And while Bennett is an international calibre player, these are precisely the type of plays that cast him as one of the NHL’s most detested figures on the ice. Bennett scored a goal for the Panthers, which cut the Maple Leafs’ lead to 5-4 late in the third period, perhaps adding further insult to the result.  “Elbow to the head. Clearly. Clearly. Clear as day,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said post-game about the hit.
• Matthew Knies was outstanding for the Maple Leafs and he was arguably the best player on Toronto’s top line. Knies used his size and speed to great effect throughout the contest, he was unfazed by the Panthers’ antics and scored the game-winning goal on a nifty backhand in the third period. Knies set up one-timers for Auston Matthews, he was constantly trying to get open when Mitch Marner had the puck in the offensive zone, and he excelled in transition throughout the night. It’s clear that this version of Knies, who is amid a breakout season, provides the Leafs with an element they’ve missed in the past. Knies-Matthews-Marner finished with a 64 percent share of the expected goals at 5-on-5 via Natural Stat Trick and it was largely due to the 22-year-old forcing his way into high-danger areas throughout the night. “We knew coming in they’d be physical, chippy, little things between the whistles,” Knies said post-game. “I think we stayed composed throughout the whole game, especially the last few minutes. We made the right plays and didn’t give in to their crap.”
• There’s a natural tendency to assume the Leafs will into their habits from the past, but that would overlook the new additions to the team. Tanev was outstanding once again in his own end, facilitating easy exits, and even got on the scoresheet. Oliver Ekman-Larsson played with a physical edge, adding a primary assist on Nylander’s second goal, along with the puck skills to easily get out of his zone, while Brandon Carlo continues to be a steadying force alongside Morgan Rielly, who is leaning into the totality of his offensive game during the playoffs. Max Pacioretty added two assists and four hits in the winning effort. So while there’s ample reason to believe the Maple Leafs could fall victim to the same bad habits of yesteryear, it would discount the impact of all the new additions, who aren’t beholden to prior nightmares.

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