Stolarz looks to 'prove people wrong' by becoming Leafs go-to goalie

The Maple Leafs practiced at Ford Performance Centre on Thursday.

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Anthony Stolarz has the slogan, 'PROVE PEOPLE WRONG,' painted on the back of his mask. 

"There's always going be people who doubt you and it's been like that for everybody," the Leafs goalie said. "People kind of don't want us to succeed and it's up to you to battle through that adversity and come out on top."

At age 30 and in his eighth NHL season, Stolarz is looking to become the go-to guy for the first time. And he's trying to do it while playing under the microscope in a hockey-mad market. 

"His demeanour is just very calm and relaxed, easygoing," said centre John Tavares. "I think you see that in the net."

Stolarz, who stands 6-foot-6, has certainly silenced the doubters so far. He's off to a scintillating start with a .928 save percentage, which is fourth best in the league. 

"So big in there, so calm in there," observed winger Max Pacioretty. "Calm when he's off the ice as well. Just kind of all the characteristics of a really good goaltender." 

Stolarz is locked in, but also laidback. Also on his mask is the motto, 'No excuses. Play like a champion,' which is a line from the movie Wedding Crashers.  

"It was one of my favourite movies growing up," he said of the Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson comedy, which hit theatres in 2005. "I just thought it would be something cool to put on there."

The words are meaningful as well. 

"At the end of the day, no one's going to feel sorry for you," said Stolarz, who overcame a serious knee injury earlier in his career. "You're the one that's out there. You gotta go out there and work hard."

Stolarz played like a champion last year when he was the back-up goalie on the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. He started a career high 24 games and finished with a .925 save percentage.

A second-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012, Stolarz has been a crease crasher since turning pro. He's played for five NHL teams, two AHL teams and one ECHL club. In recent years, he played behind Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida and John Gibson in Anaheim so there was no real chance to seize the No. 1 job. 

Until now. 

Stolarz signed a two-year, $5-million deal with the Leafs in the summer in the hopes of getting more playing time. Still, he started the year behind incumbent goalie Joseph Woll on the depth chart. When Woll was sidelined by groin tightness on the eve of the season, Stolarz stepped in and stepped up. On Friday, he's expected to make a third straight start when the Leafs host the Detroit Red Wings. It will be his first chance to experience the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game in Toronto. 

"It's going to be exciting," he said. "The first I heard about it was about 20 seconds ago."

It will be his 10th game of the season. He didn't make his 10th start last year until January. 

Stolarz isn't getting caught up in the hype. He's keeping his mind in the present. 

"Try not to reflect on anything in the past, any goals you give up, because you can't really control that," he said. "It's a mentality I've adopted these last couple years and it's been working for me."

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Stolarz is a sports nut with baseball being his second love behind hockey. The New Jersey native is a big New York Mets fan and lists Brandon Nimmo as his favourite player. What does he like about the outfielder? 

"Just how he works really hard," Stolarz said. "They give him a walk and he runs to first base."

Stolarz is winning over fans in Toronto with how hard he's working, although his relentless approach has also led him to lose his stick several times in recent games. 

"It's just the way I play, the battle, the intensity," Stolarz explained. "Teams are going to throw a lot of guys and bodies at me and, you know, the time it takes to get your stick and bring it around someone or bring it over someone, I mean, that's kind of the difference between the puck going in and not. So I feel comfortable playing without it. The pads nowadays kind of seal up so there's really no holes. Obviously you don't want to lose it, but it's more of a competitive thing for me. I just want to be able to stop the puck."

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Auston Matthews (upper body) missed Thursday's practice. 

"He is doing okay," head coach Craig Berube said. "It is still a day-to-day thing right now."

What's his status for the weekend games, including a Saturday night showdown with the Montreal Canadiens? 

"It is hard for me to answer the question knowing what I know right now with him," Berube said. "I can't tell you what is going to happen tomorrow or the next day. I wish I could, but I can't."

The Leafs managed to shut out the Boston Bruins 4-0 without their star centre on Tuesday. 

"It was a really emotional game," Pacioretty said. "I've always found that kind of helps teams come together. This morning you could feel the energy as well and hopefully now we can translate this into a carryover effect."

Toronto improved to 36-19-2 without Matthews. Perhaps playing without their captain can spark the Leafs in the short term? 

"I'm not going to say that," Pacioretty responded quickly. "We're talking about the best player in the world here. You want him in the lineup every night possible and there's no replacing him. There's a boost when you know that he's in here doing everything he can to come back and help the team. Maybe that gives you a boost in a sense where it's like we want to make sure we do right by him."

With Matthews out, Max Domi moved up to the top-line centre spot and earned a positive review from Berube. 

"He attacked on the inside more, not only on the power play, but in some 5-on-5 situations," the coach observed. "He used his shot and shot more. He needs to keep building off of that and not always be on the outside looking to make plays. He is a great playmaker — we all know that — but it's getting on the inside, shooting pucks more, and hounding."

Domi is still looking for his first goal of the season. He's gone eight straight games without a point. 

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Pacioretty was initially assessed a boarding major on Tuesday after drilling Andrew Peeke with a big hit. The Bruins defenceman left the game and did not return. With an agitated Pacioretty sitting in the penalty box, the referees reviewed the play and eventually rescinded the penalty entirely. 

"If it looked like I was frustrated, it was because I didn't know they could overturn it," the 35-year-old said. "In hindsight, it was definitely the right decision to go that route rather than give me a two if they weren't sure. I wasn't sure if you could reverse a five entirely. I thought the rule was that you could reverse a five down to a two. But they got it right. I knew it was a clean hit and I'm happy they got it right. It's unfortunate to see a guy get injured. Never trying to do that at all."

Pacioretty is landing a lot of hits lately. In fact, he's up to third on the team in that department with 33 in just 11 games. 

"I think it rubs off on the whole team," Berube said. "It is an important part of our game, being physical. He's doing a great job of it."

Since sitting out two games as a healthy scratch, Pacioretty leads the Leafs in hits since Oct. 20 and recently earned a promotion to the second line with William Nylander and Tavares. 

"His mindset of getting in there and disrupting play, being physical, being hard, being very competitive that way, it goes a long way to wearing an opponent down and creating opportunities for his linemates," said Tavares. 

"It's something I've, not to sound cocky, been good at," Pacioretty said. "But it's hard to do. It's really hard to play like that and then play offensive and make plays." 

Tavares and Pacioretty have gone three straight games without a point. 

"I'm really trying to find a balance," said Pacioretty, who had a game high five shots on net against Boston. "Not to say I want to be less physical, but I gotta find ways to extend plays because of it."

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After Peeke exited the game, the Bruins were letting Pacioretty hear it, which drew the attention of winger Ryan Reaves. 

"I was asking [Mark] Kastelic to fight because he was going over to Patch and talking to him," Reaves revealed. "I told him not to talk to him. I went and asked him to fight."

Reaves noticed that Jim Montgomery instructed Kastelic not to drop the gloves, which led the Leafs enforcer to get into it with the Bruins bench boss. 

"Montgomery was yelling at him from the bench," Reaves noted with a grin. "So I was having a chat with Montgomery."

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After adding 10 pounds of muscle in the summer, Matthew Knies is emerging as a net-front force this season. 

"His size and his strength is very rare for someone of his age and his experience," said Tavares of the second-year pro. "He catches a lot of veterans and guys who have been around the league off guard [with] how strong and how thick he is."

The Bruins had no answer for the 6-foot-3, 227-pounder during Tuesday's game. Knies deflected in a power-play goal and caused havoc in front when two other pucks went in. 

"I get to see it in practice," said Stolarz. "I'm one of the taller goalies in the league and I'm just trying to look around him. It's really difficult so I can only imagine what it is for the smaller guys. He's always asking questions too, which I think for a young guy is huge. He is asking how he can make himself bigger and what to do in certain situations."

Knies considers Tavares to be his mentor when it comes to refining his game in front of the net. The 22-year-old is a quick study.

"He's taking massive steps for us and it's great to see," Tavares said. 

What was the biggest challenge for Tavares when he played in front of the net as a young NHLer? 

"Finding space where there's no space at all," he said with a smile. "Whether that's positionally, getting your stick free, just trying to have good timing when pucks come in and around the net ... those are things you learn through experience."

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Forward Connor Dewar and defenceman Jani Hakanpää will remain in the American Hockey League on a long term injured reserve conditioning loan this weekend. 

"I think they need more games down there to get up to speed," Berube said. "I think it is important for both of them since they have been out for a long time."

The Toronto Marlies will play in Charlotte on Saturday and Sunday. 

Dewar and Hakanpää both played a game with the Marlies last weekend. Dewar is working his way back from summer shoulder surgery. Hakanpää has been sidelined with a knee injury since March. 

This type of loan can last a maximum of three games unless the Leafs request an extension from the commissioner. 

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Fraser Minten is expected to make his season debut this weekend with the Marlies. The 20-year-old centre has been out since sustaining a high ankle sprain in a rookie camp game against the Canadiens on Sept. 16. 

"Just lost my balance," Minten recalled of the hit that led to the injury. "I got to know that contact is coming. It's early in the season so you haven't been hit in a while, so lots of falls like that usually happen in games. Guys aren't taking hits as they should."

Minten still had his right ankle wrapped following a practice earlier this week. 

"You still notice it a bit," he said. "Everyone says it lingers for a while even after you come back, but compared to where it was five, six weeks ago it feels night and day."

Minten practiced on a line with Nikita Grebenkin and Alex Steeves, who is tied for the team lead in goals. 

"He's itching to get out there," said Marlies coach John Gruden. "He's still a young kid and he just wants to be part of it and show what he can do. It will be nice to have him because you can play him in all situations. He plays the game the right way and makes people around him better."

Minten unexpectedly made the Leafs out of training camp last season and suited up in four NHL games before being returned to the Western Hockey League. He's excited for his first full season of professional hockey and remained upbeat throughout the rehab process. 

"There's nothing you can do about it," the Vancouver native said. "So there's no point in being sad about it. You make your recovery process your work and your rehab is your job instead of your hockey." 

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Lines at Thursday's practice: 

Knies - Domi - Marner 

Pacioretty - Tavares - Nylander 

McMann - Holmberg - Robertson 

Lorentz - Kampf - Reaves 

Rielly - Ekman-Larsson 

McCabe - Tanev 

Benoit - Timmins 

Benning - Myers 

Stolarz 

Woll