<p>The Toronto Maple Leafs edged the New York Rangers 3-2 on Friday night thanks to the heroics of Anthony Stolarz.</p>
<p>On a night where the Leafs were playing sloppy at times, it was Stolarz who proved to be the difference maker as he was the sole reason why the team came away from this one with the two points. <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/7-takeaways-leafs-bruins-marner-comeback-robertson-holmberg-on-fire-rielly-elevates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Much like Tuesday&#8217;s game against the Boston Bruins</a>, the contest could have gotten away from them if not for the brilliance of their netminder.</p>
<p>Toronto rewarded Stolarz&#8217;s heroics, with goals from Oliver Ekman-Larsson, William Nylander, and Matthew Knies. Ekman-Larsson&#8217;s goal came on the power play when Auston Matthews drew a tripping call right off the hop. Nylander received off a stretch pass from Jake McCabe before it was knocked in accidentally by Urho Vaakanainen. The third was the result of Mitch Marner blocking a clearing attempt, which landed on Matthews&#8217; stick, and then right <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-matthew-knies-wants-remain-team-contract-handled-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on the stick of the Knies</a> who made no mistake.</p>
<p>New York was in control for the majority of the game and they got their goals by capitalizing on mistakes by Toronto. Mika Zibanejad tipped in a shot from Will Borgen late in the first period, while Will Cuylle took advantage of a Robertson giveaway near the blue line and took it the other way for a shorthanded tally.</p>
<p><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-chris-tanev-day-to-day-upper-body-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Tanev&#8217;s absence was felt</a> in this one as there were lengthy stretches that saw the Leafs hemmed in their own end and you could tell they were exhausted by the end of the night. They also didn&#8217;t do themselves any favours by missing the empty net multiple times in the closing minutes.</p>
<p>But in the end, the Leafs did just enough to get the win and close out the month of February with a record of 7-1-0 and back atop the Atlantic Division.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">It may be reductionist, but Anthony Stolarz and the Leafs&#39; first line won this game. Stolarz saved 2.43 goals above expected in all situations via Natural Stat Trick. Marner was excellent in all facets and helped up set up Knies&#39; game winner. Leafs&#39; bottom six, one shot at 5v5.</p>
<p>&mdash; Arun Srinivasan (@Arunthings) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arunthings/status/1895666867093860417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h1>Three Stars</h1>
<h2>Anthony Stolarz</h2>
<p>He was without question the Leafs&#8217; MVP on the night with 33 saves and many of them being dandies. You can&#8217;t really blame him for the two goals he did allow as one was a perfect deflection while the other was a bad turnover in the offensive end turning costly. The rest of his team was playing with heavy legs, especially the bottom-six, and they owe Stolarz a big New York steak for bailing them out countless times.</p>
<h2>The top-six forwards</h2>
<p>After the offensive load was carried by the bottom six for three straight games, the main guys were the ones that proved to be difference makers on the score sheet. The John Tavares line was the stronger of the two, but the Matthews line had their fair share of chances as well including with the Rangers&#8217; net empty. This was a night that they needed to come through offensively and they delivered when they got their looks.</p>
<h2>Jake McCabe</h2>
<p>Unlike on Tuesday when he had arguably his worst game of the season, McCabe rebounded with one of his better defensive showings and was the main man on the back end. He led all Leafs defencemen in ice time with 23:08 along with three blocks and two takeaways. McCabe has been among the team&#8217;s most dependable players throughout the campaign and he reminded fans of what he is capable of on nights when he is on his game.</p>
<h1>Up Next</h1>
<p>The Leafs will wrap up their road trip on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, with puck drop scheduled for 1 p.m. EST.</p>
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The Toronto Maple Leafs edged the New York Rangers 3-2 on Friday night thanks to the heroics of Anthony Stolarz.

On a night where the Leafs were playing sloppy at times, it was Stolarz who proved to be the difference maker as he was the sole reason why the team came away from this one with the two points. <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/7-takeaways-leafs-bruins-marner-comeback-robertson-holmberg-on-fire-rielly-elevates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Much like Tuesday's game against the Boston Bruins</a>, the contest could have gotten away from them if not for the brilliance of their netminder.

Toronto rewarded Stolarz's heroics, with goals from Oliver Ekman-Larsson, William Nylander, and Matthew Knies. Ekman-Larsson's goal came on the power play when Auston Matthews drew a tripping call right off the hop. Nylander received off a stretch pass from Jake McCabe before it was knocked in accidentally by Urho Vaakanainen. The third was the result of Mitch Marner blocking a clearing attempt, which landed on Matthews' stick, and then right <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-matthew-knies-wants-remain-team-contract-handled-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on the stick of the Knies</a> who made no mistake.

New York was in control for the majority of the game and they got their goals by capitalizing on mistakes by Toronto. Mika Zibanejad tipped in a shot from Will Borgen late in the first period, while Will Cuylle took advantage of a Robertson giveaway near the blue line and took it the other way for a shorthanded tally.

<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-chris-tanev-day-to-day-upper-body-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Tanev's absence was felt</a> in this one as there were lengthy stretches that saw the Leafs hemmed in their own end and you could tell they were exhausted by the end of the night. They also didn't do themselves any favours by missing the empty net multiple times in the closing minutes.

But in the end, the Leafs did just enough to get the win and close out the month of February with a record of 7-1-0 and back atop the Atlantic Division.

https://twitter.com/TLNdc/status/1895666987550093767
<h1>Three Stars</h1>
<h2>Anthony Stolarz</h2>
He was without question the Leafs' MVP on the night with 33 saves and many of them being dandies. You can't really blame him for the two goals he did allow as one was a perfect deflection while the other was a bad turnover in the offensive end turning costly. The rest of his team was playing with heavy legs, especially the bottom-six, and they owe Stolarz a big New York steak for bailing them out countless times.
<h2>The top-six forwards</h2>
After the offensive load was carried by the bottom six for three straight games, the main guys were the ones that proved to be difference makers on the score sheet. The John Tavares line was the stronger of the two, but the Matthews line had their fair share of chances as well including with the Rangers' net empty. This was a night that they needed to come through offensively and they delivered when they got their looks.
<h2>Jake McCabe</h2>
Unlike on Tuesday when he had arguably his worst game of the season, McCabe rebounded with one of his better defensive showings and was the main man on the back end. He led all Leafs defencemen in ice time with 23:08 along with three blocks and two takeaways. McCabe has been among the team's most dependable players throughout the campaign and he reminded fans of what he is capable of on nights when he is on his game.
<h1>Up Next</h1>
The Leafs will wrap up their road trip on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, with puck drop scheduled for 1 p.m. EST.
<div>

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Get ready, hockey fans! The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Deadline</a> is happening on March 7th from 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, and you won’t want to miss it. We’ll be LIVE, breaking down every trade and big move as it happens, with instant reactions and expert analysis from the Daily Faceoff crew. Plus, we've got special guests lined up throughout the show, offering exclusive insights from some of the biggest names in the game. From blockbuster trades to surprise moves, we’re covering it all. Tune in to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow Daily Faceoff socials on March 7th to catch all the action!

</div>

Knee Jerk Reaction: Stolarz powers Maple Leafs to close win over Rangers

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