One up, one down for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz loved what he saw in front of him.

The Maple Leafs fended off the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 in their season opener on Wednesday, and Stolarz spoke to reporters postgame, and gave some flowers to not only Toronto’s depth overall, but more specifically the play of the fourth line of Calle Jarnkrok, Nicolas Roy, and Steven Lorentz, and their ability to get the job done at both ends of the rink.

“Kudos to that fourth line, they battled. That’s going to have to be their role this entire year.”

Jarnkrok was able to clean up a loose puck in front of the Canadiens net during the second period to tie the game up at two. A huge goal for Jarnkrok, who had a very stressful training camp, not knowing exactly what his role on this team would be, or even if he would be on the team at all. Stolarz was happy to see Jarnkrok get one early on this season.

“With him (Jarnkrok) on it, and Stevey, and Roysy, I think they understand their role, and know what they have to do, and come playoff time, that’s who you’re going to have to play. For them to come out game 1, make an impact like that, it kind of sets the tone for the rest of the year. I love their tenacity on the forecheck, love the way they were sacrificing their bodies.”

“Just having that two-way game to start the year sets the tone for everyone else.”

The fourth line made an impact against the Canadiens, and the same can be said about Maple Leafs’ defenceman Morgan Rielly. With a tough end to last season and a stern conversation during his exit interview, Rielly dropped some weight, changed up his training regimen, and is hopeful a quicker first step can help him bounce back this season. One game in, one goal later, Stolarz loved what he saw from Rielly’s game in the opener.

“He’s confident with the puck,” stated Stolarz on Rielly’s season debut. “He’s making plays at both ends of the ice, I thought he did a great job holding his gap, getting sticks on pucks, and moving guys in front. We can all see the offensive talent is there, and when he feels confident he can fly up the ice, and join the rush like that. For him to get that goal, it’s huge for him, and huge for us as a team.”

It was clear Stolarz was happy with how the Maple Leafs started the 2025-26 season. A ‘team’ game in front of him, attention to detail on the defensive side of the puck, 29 saves in the victory, and Toronto’s off a running on a new year.