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The Toronto Maple Leafs yet again went out sad in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, losing Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals 6-1 to the Florida Panthers despite having home ice advantage. The Leafs also had the misfortune of playing the majority of the series without starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz after he suffered a concussion in Game 1.
Stolarz came out of the game after an elbow to the head from Florida center Sam Bennett. But earlier in the game, Stolarz also took a shot directly off the mask that seemed to leave him rattled. This left many fans wondering if he had already been concussed prior to the incident with Bennett. But Stolarz now says with confidence that is not the case.
Stolarz confirms he had a concussion and it was not from the puck he took on the head. The Bennett elbow knocked him out of the series. @sdpnsports
— Jesse Blake (@JesseBlake) May 20, 2025
Anthony Stolarz Says Sam Bennett, Not Shot To Mask, Caused His Concussion
“I don’t think so. I’ve taken a lot of pucks off my helmet in my career, and I felt fine,” Stolarz said when asked if the shot to the mask could have contributed to the concussion. “The way I felt after that, it was probably another 45 minutes, and I didn’t feel anything. But after (Bennett’s elbow) is when I started to feel symptoms.
“I don’t think any malicious intent on (Bennett’s) part,” he added during the Leafs players’ final press conference of the season Tuesday morning. “I think it was just one of those things: it’s the playoffs and he’s in the moment and he wants to score a goal for his team and I’m doing my best to you know try to keep the puck out of my net. It was just one those things where he just caught me in a bad spot.”
That validated a number of Maple Leafs fans who insist that Bennett, and the Panthers in general, play a dirty game. But herein lies the problem. There’s no way for Stolarz, or even doctors, to confirm the cause. Just because he felt fine in between the shot to the mask and the Bennett hit doesn’t mean that he was not concussed.
While it’s entirely possible Bennett’s hit caused the concussion, it’s also extremely plausible that he was concussed prior and the Bennett hit just further exacerbated the injury. Either way, Toronto fans aren’t going to be happy. And given the way the Maple Leafs continue to torment them, it’s easy to understand why.