Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was brought to the hospital after being struck in the neck by a puck during warmups prior to his game against the Ottawa Senators.
Stolarz was withdrawn from Saturday’s game and carried off the ice to the hospital as a precaution. He was given some photographs and then released, according to NHL. com.
Following his team’s 5-2 loss to the Senators, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube had no news on Stolarz, but he expected to join the team for their flight back to Toronto.
The moment was captured by Sportsnet, which featured a Maple Leafs player taking a shot as part of regular warmups. But it placed Stolarz in the worst possible location: between his pads and mask.
Stolarz swiftly skated out of goal and into the Maple Leafs’ tunnel before exiting the arena.
William Nylander was the one who fired the shot on goal that struck Stolarz in the neck, and he addressed the odd incident following the defeat.
According to the New York Post, it is extremely difficult to watch it happen, he added. I always enter and shoot the puck into the glove, but this one came off a little to the left, and I hit him in the neck. So, I was obviously concerned for him, but I’ve been communicating with him via text. So he looks okay.
In turn, Joseph Woll stepped into goal, and he had a terrible outing, conceding five goals.
Stolarz, a 32-year-old New Jersey native, has an 8-9-3 record and a. 894 save percentage in 22 games for the Maple Leafs. This is his second season with Toronto, having previously backed up Sergei Bobrovsky with the Florida Panthers in 2024.
Stolarz was a member of the Panthers’ Stanley Cup-winning team that year.
Despite undergoing knee surgery that limited him to 34 games in the 2024-25 season, he signed a four-year, $15 million contract with the Maple Leafs in September 2025.
Unfortunately, the injury problem persisted this year, with Stolarz being forced to miss 33 games due to an upper-body ailment earlier this season.
The Maple Leafs have had a terrible season, sitting outside the playoff picture with just 11 games remaining. With 71 points, they are currently at the bottom of the Atlantic Division alongside the Panthers.
