‘Prefer it stay in the room’: Maple Leafs respond to Stolarz’s criticism

A loss to Seattle may have sent Toronto spiralling.

And no, we are not talking about the Blue Jays.

Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz blasted his team on Saturday after a 4-3 overtime loss to the Kraken, calling out his skaters for being “outworked” and saying “enough’s enough” just six games into the season.

Head coach Craig Berube and two of the team’s stars responded to his starter’s criticism on Monday.

Despite sitting just above .500 at 3-2-1, the Maple Leafs have allowed the eighth-most goals in the league, surrendering 20 in total while scoring 22 (tied for third).

Their latest loss came on a play in which William Nylander’s soft backcheck gave Seattle a clean look at the net. After the game, Stolarz — without saying Nylander’s name — called out the play as an example of not working hard enough.

Two days later, Nylander said “it’s all good.”

“We’re teammates. He’s a great guy,” said Nylander, whose 11 points (two goals, nine assists) lead the team.

“I pulled Willy aside, we had a conversation. Heâ€s someone I admire and someone I respect deeply. … He pushes me, I push him. Weâ€re a family in here and weâ€re looking to push each other and get to our ultimate goal at the end of the day,” Stolarz said.

Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews added that the team got together and talked after Stolarz’s comments.

“Weâ€re a veteran group in here. Weâ€re all big boys. We donâ€t need to beat around the bush,” he said.

On the season, Stolarz holds an .897 save percentage and 2.79 goals-against average over five starts. He has faced the sixth-most shots in the league.

While many Toronto sports fans are distracted by the Blue Jays’ Game 7, all eyes could be back on the hockey team by Tuesday, when the Maple Leafs return to action at home against the New Jersey Devils.

Source link