The Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Florida Panthers last night in Game 1 of their second-round series, and things got off to a near perfect start. Out of the gate, the Maple Leafs looked hungry to grab a quick 1-0 series lead—and that’s exactly what they did. Unfortunately, things weren’t all sunshine and rainbows. The playoffs are hard and a grind, and that showed last night.
The Maple Leafs won Game 1, but lost a key piece to their lineup in Anthony Stolarz, who left the game after a very questionable hit from Panthers forward Sam Bennett. Now Leafs Nation will have to wait and see what the outcome is. But before we dive deeper into that, let’s go through some other key takeaways from the game.
Knies Needs to Be Extended ASAP
Leafs Nation, do you remember the last time the Maple Leafs had a talent like Matthew Knies? Yes, they have the core four who are elite, but Knies brings something totally different. He’s exactly what this team needed, and his fit on the top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner is a match made in heaven.
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His style of play is a lot like Tom Wilson or Brady Tkachuk, but he doesn’t have that “tough guy” edge. He’s not out there running around or trying to fight guys. He plays with control, gets in on the forecheck, wins puck battles, and gets the puck to the stars.
Everyone knows he’s set to be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and there’s no doubt the Maple Leafs will get an extension done with him. But just to be safe, it should happen before the market opens on July 1 to avoid any chance of an offer sheet. It’s clear the priority is getting a deal done with Marner, but with how well Knies has played—especially in the playoffs—he needs to be seen as a big piece of the puzzle they can’t risk losing.
Will Ny the Scoring Guy
After talking about Knies and his impact, it’s time to give some love to the Maple Leafs’ best playoff performer—William Nylander. Over the last few playoff runs, he’s completely changed the narrative around him. It feels like forever ago when Leafs Nation was constantly ripping on him for lack of effort, poor play, and being too soft. Now, he shows up in the big moments and reminds everyone why people describe him as calm under pressure.
Last night, he scored 33 seconds into the game with a shot from just below the half wall that beat Sergei Bobrovsky through the five-hole to give the Maple Leafs a quick 1-0 lead. He added another one later, picking up the puck in the slot and deking out Bobrovsky before flipping it over his glove. He also added an assist—finishing with two goals, one assist, and a +2 rating in just 18:42 of ice time. With that performance, Nylander is now tied for the playoff lead in scoring with 12 points.
Stolarz’s Injury Looks Serious
Now to the most important takeaway of the night—Stolarz’s injury. For those who didn’t see it, Panthers forward Bennett cut in front of the net and hit Stolarz in the head with his hand. Right away, Stolarz went down, and the play was whistled dead. A few minutes later, he was ready to continue playing, but unfortunately, not long after that, he was seen puking into the Maple Leafs’ bench before leaving the game.
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Obviously, if someone has a head injury and starts throwing up right after, that’s never a good sign. He was stretchered out of Scotiabank Arena and is now being evaluated in hospital. The hit has already caught the attention of a lot of NHL media—and even Chris Nowinski, the former WWE wrestler turned neuroscientist. He’s been outspoken about head injuries in sports, and he posted on social media how important it is to get to the ER immediately if someone pukes after taking a shot to the head.
For Stolarz, his health comes first. It sucks, because he was playing great, but now the Leafs will have to pivot to Joseph Woll. They need to find out how serious the injury is and make sure they don’t rush him back. His future comes before anything else. Head coach Craig Berube was asked postgame what he thought of the hit, and he didn’t hold back. “Elbow to the head… clear as day.” Like the rest of Leafs Nation, he’s not happy and now we wait to see if the NHL’s Department of Player Safety actually does anything about it. There was no penalty on the play, but based on what happened, this should be a suspension. Now we wait.
