<p>Anthony Stolarz became just the second <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> goaltender to backstop the team to a first-round victory in the past 19 years, and he did it with a great soundbite.</p>
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<p>The demons came crashing down in the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/5-takeaways-toronto-maple-leafs-ottawa-senators-game-6-signature-nylander-pacioretty-justifies-role">late stages of Game 6</a> when Stolarz allowed what was easily his worst goal of the series. Ottawa Senators forward David Perron banked the puck off his mask and into the net from behind the goal line, tying the game at 2 on what was the exact type of flukey goal that has killed the Leafs in the past.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">David Perron ties it <a href="https://t.co/YsZ83X98vi">pic.twitter.com/YsZ83X98vi</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Omar (@TicTacTOmar) <a href="https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1918113010289443221?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Fortunately, Max Pacioretty <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-pacioretty-game-winner-toronto-maple-leafs-advance">had a response.</a></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">MAX PACIORETTY 🚨</p>
<p>THE LEAFS TAKE THE LEAD <a href="https://t.co/3wGkrL9K8t">pic.twitter.com/3wGkrL9K8t</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Omar (@TicTacTOmar) <a href="https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1918114223500017895?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Stolarz, calm, cool and collected as always, was able to laugh at himself about the goal postgame, dropping an all-timer of a quote when asked what happened on the goal.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s one of those things, got a little horny on the poke check, so, you know, you live and learn, its the life of a goaltender,&#8221; Stolarz said. &#8220;You kind of just flush it out of your mind because that next shot&#8217;s coming and it&#8217;s more important than the one that just went in. I thought the guys did a great job of not giving up and trying to regain some momentum. So, like I said, I&#8217;m extremely grateful for the 19 other guys out there who were able to have my back. It takes a team effort there.&#8221;</p>
<p>Horny on the poke check or not, Stolarz got the outcome he deserved for his performance all series long. That goal was one of a few that could have been back-breakers for the team, but the number of big saves he made easily outnumbered the ones he should have had. Ask him, though, and he&#8217;ll be the first one to shout out his teammates for helping get there. A prime example of this is Scott Laughton, who laid his body on the line and blocked the biggest shot of the series to set up William Nylander&#8217;s empty-net goal, sealing the game.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m extremely proud of the way our team handled business,&#8221; Stolarz said. &#8220;The way we played in the offensive zone and the defensive zone. The selflessness to block shots, you look at Laughts [Scott Laughton] at the end there, laying his body on the line, and then Willy [Nylander] icing it. That&#8217;s what it&#8217;s going to take to advance.&#8221;</p>
<p>Although the game could have gone much worse, with potential for another overtime and a dreaded Game 7 in Toronto, Stolarz reiterated that the message within the dressing room was one of confidence and belief.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re playing for each other in here,&#8221; Stolarz said. &#8220;Everyone knows their role, everyone knows their job. We have the confidence in here, everyone in here knows that we&#8217;re an extremely talented team, and when we&#8217;re going and firing on all cylinders, we can stick with anyone in this league, and we proved that all year. Tonight was just another example of the way guys were able to hem them in their own zone, keep shots to the outside and make my job easy, and at the end of the day, that&#8217;s what it&#8217;s going to take.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Leafs are now set for a second-round rematch with the Florida Panthers to kick off sometime over the next few days, and the team will be hoping for better fortunes than the quick 5-game exit they suffered at the hands of their divisional rival two years ago. But, like Craig Berube and Brad Treliving have both said multiple times, the past is the past, and Stolarz and the Leafs are keeping that fact close to them.</p>
<p>&#8220;At the end of the day, we want to win the Stanley Cup. You have to win four rounds to do it, so whoever we play, we&#8217;ll get some scouting going on them over the next few days and start preparing for them.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></p>
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Anthony Stolarz became just the second <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> goaltender to backstop the team to a first-round victory in the past 19 years, and he did it with a great soundbite.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
The demons came crashing down in the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/5-takeaways-toronto-maple-leafs-ottawa-senators-game-6-signature-nylander-pacioretty-justifies-role">late stages of Game 6</a> when Stolarz allowed what was easily his worst goal of the series. Ottawa Senators forward David Perron banked the puck off his mask and into the net from behind the goal line, tying the game at 2 on what was the exact type of flukey goal that has killed the Leafs in the past.

https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1918113010289443221

Fortunately, Max Pacioretty <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-pacioretty-game-winner-toronto-maple-leafs-advance">had a response.</a>

https://twitter.com/TicTacTOmar/status/1918114223500017895

Stolarz, calm, cool and collected as always, was able to laugh at himself about the goal postgame, dropping an all-timer of a quote when asked what happened on the goal.

"It's one of those things, got a little horny on the poke check, so, you know, you live and learn, its the life of a goaltender," Stolarz said. "You kind of just flush it out of your mind because that next shot's coming and it's more important than the one that just went in. I thought the guys did a great job of not giving up and trying to regain some momentum. So, like I said, I'm extremely grateful for the 19 other guys out there who were able to have my back. It takes a team effort there."

Horny on the poke check or not, Stolarz got the outcome he deserved for his performance all series long. That goal was one of a few that could have been back-breakers for the team, but the number of big saves he made easily outnumbered the ones he should have had. Ask him, though, and he'll be the first one to shout out his teammates for helping get there. A prime example of this is Scott Laughton, who laid his body on the line and blocked the biggest shot of the series to set up William Nylander's empty-net goal, sealing the game.

"I'm extremely proud of the way our team handled business," Stolarz said. "The way we played in the offensive zone and the defensive zone. The selflessness to block shots, you look at Laughts [Scott Laughton] at the end there, laying his body on the line, and then Willy [Nylander] icing it. That's what it's going to take to advance."

Although the game could have gone much worse, with potential for another overtime and a dreaded Game 7 in Toronto, Stolarz reiterated that the message within the dressing room was one of confidence and belief.

"We're playing for each other in here," Stolarz said. "Everyone knows their role, everyone knows their job. We have the confidence in here, everyone in here knows that we're an extremely talented team, and when we're going and firing on all cylinders, we can stick with anyone in this league, and we proved that all year. Tonight was just another example of the way guys were able to hem them in their own zone, keep shots to the outside and make my job easy, and at the end of the day, that's what it's going to take."

The Leafs are now set for a second-round rematch with the Florida Panthers to kick off sometime over the next few days, and the team will be hoping for better fortunes than the quick 5-game exit they suffered at the hands of their divisional rival two years ago. But, like Craig Berube and Brad Treliving have both said multiple times, the past is the past, and Stolarz and the Leafs are keeping that fact close to them.

"At the end of the day, we want to win the Stanley Cup. You have to win four rounds to do it, so whoever we play, we'll get some scouting going on them over the next few days and start preparing for them."

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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Anthony Stolarz on missed poke check that led to Senators tying goal: ‘Got a little horny with it’

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