Anthony Stolarz couldn’t hold onto his stick in Minnesota on Sunday night, but somehow he managed to put the Maple Leafs on his back. Toronto finished up their weekend back-to-back with a 2-1 overtime loss against the Wild, and Stolarz should get all the credit for getting the Leafs at least a point.

Stolarz was lights out from start to finish but made the night harder on himself than it needed to be, losing his goal stick on four different occasions. The 30-year-old goaltender was tested early and often, making 31 saves and looks to be cementing himself as the Maple Leafs’ starting goaltender, just 13 games into the season.

Minnesota forward Ryan Hartman opened the scoring just over ten minutes into the first. Hartman was right on the doorstep after what turned out to be a wild sequence where Stolarz was scrambling after losing his stick. It was the second time in the first ten minutes Stolarz lost his stick.

Later in the first, Craig Berube showed off some creativity behind the bench sending out five forwards for the Maple Leafs first power play. Toronto’s 32nd ranked PP has been historically bad and while the first unit had some looks, the group of William Nylander, Matthew Knies, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews couldn’t capitalize early. Marner and Matthews flanked the points and there were some positives to take out of it, as the shot attempts came early and often, but unfortunately no results to show for it.

Marner would draw a penalty late in the opening frame and Berube went with the second unit to start the man advantage. They couldn’t get things set up, the top unit would jumped over the boards, and Nylander finished off a one-time pass from Matthews to tie the game 1-1. 13 games into the season, the Maple Leafs have their first power play goal on the road, and also snap a 0-23 streak away from Scotiabank Arena dating back to the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The second period started with the Leafs down a man thanks to defenceman Chris Tanev taking a holding penalty late in the opening frame. Toronto managed to kill it off thanks to Stolarz, who made a couple of big saves in tight. There wasn’t a ton to like in the middle frame. The fourth line generated some momentum with a strong cycle, meanwhile Bobby McMann had a good look trying to jam one in around the 14-minute mark.

Late in the frame, Nick Robertson had his stick break in the defensive zone, which led to the Wild working the puck around the Leafs’ zone for almost a minute. Oliver Ekman-Larsson ended up taking four minutes in penalties after the chaotic sequence, and Stolarz bailed him out, making his best save of the night. Stickless Stolarz flashing the leather was a beautiful sight.

The third period started like the second, with the Maple Leafs on the penalty kill. Toronto did a good job keeping the Wild to the outside and killed off Ekman-Larsson’s bizarre double minor. The Wild controlled the play for the majority of the third and took away the Leafs time and space. Berube tried to gain some momentum late, shuffling the likes of Nylander and Max Domi with Matthews and Marner. While it didn’t result in a goal, it was nice to see Berube switch things up to try to create a spark.

It stayed 1-1 through 60 minutes and free hockey ensued in the extra frame. After the two teams exchanged rush chances, Domi had what looked like a potential odd-man breakout out of the Leafs’ zone, but bumped the puck up too far, allowing Wild defenceman Jarod Spurgeon to take advantage and feed Marco Rossi, who tapped it ahead to Matt Boldy, making made no mistake to end the game.

All in all it was a decent performance from a tired Leafs squad. The offence didn’t generate much throughout the game and they ended up relying on Stolarz to keep things afloat. It was nice to see the power play find the back of the net, and hopefully this is the beginning of them turning things around with the man advantage.

Pontus Holmberg was a healthy scratch in Minnesota as Nick Robertson was inserted back into the lineup after sitting out Saturday against the Blues. Robertson finished the night with two shots on goal and sits with just one point through his first 11 games. Robertson had a decent look off a set faceoff play in the second period, but couldn’t bury it past Wild netminder Filip Gustavsson. There were several times during the game where Robertson looked a step behind and was chasing the play. The bottom-six rotation continues but with looming roster decisions incoming for GM Brad Treliving, it makes you wonder how things will shake out and who will be left standing.

The Maple Leafs now get set to host some Atlantic Division rivals their next four games, with the first coming Tuesday night when the Boston Bruins pay a visit to Scotiabank Arena. Look for Stolarz to start in goal against the Bruins, he’s earned it with another stellar performance Sunday night.