“Well, we’ve been a good home team this year for sure,” were the words of Paul Maurice after the Panthers suffered back-to-back defeats against the Maple Leafs in the first two games. However, the Panthers got back to their home turf and made a solid comeback to leave the series right in balance. For the Maple Leafs, it was a clear sign of a break in momentum as they couldn’t consolidate their lead and lost Game 3. Moreover, this isn’t the only bad news for them as their star player looks unlikely to return in this series.

Back in Game 1, the Maple Leafs’ goaltender, Anthony Stolarz, suffered a blow to his head from Sam Bennett’s elbow. The hit was so hard that he fell on the ice and subsequently had to be taken to a hospital for checkups. Additionally, Stolarz was moved to the bench after he was hit, and even vomited. While there were hopes that Stolarz could make a comeback soon, his concussion diagnosis complicates things, and he could potentially miss the remainder of the series.

Speaking about Stolarz’s injury, the Maple Leafs head coach, Craig Berube, said, “(Stolarz) has not skated yet.” Earlier, Berube had updated that Stolarz was “progressing in the right direction,” but it looks like this series might be too much too soon for Stolarz.

Even as Stolarz suffered a concussion blow, Sam Bennett avoided any supplemental penalty for his elbow hit on the Maple Leafs’ goaltender’s head. Moreover, he didn’t even receive any penalty during the game, much to the frustration of Craig Berube. The Maple Leafs coach said, “Elbow to the head. Clearly. Clear as day. I’m not sure why there wasn’t a call on it, but it was clearly a penalty.”

In the absence of Stolarz, Joseph Woll has assumed the duties as the goaltender of the Maple Leafs. However, things took a turn for the worse for them in Game 3.

Maple Leafs’ weak point exposed

With a golden opportunity to put one foot in the semifinals of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Maple Leafs faltered in Game 3, going down 5-4 in a nerve-wrecking contest. However, among the weak links in the Maple Leafs’ lineup was their goaltender, Woll, who gifted his opponent the fourth goal.

Panthers’ Tomas Nosek hit the shot from afar, which Woll couldn’t stop as the Panthers took complete advantage of the situation. Subsequently, after the game, Berube defended the stand-in goaltender, saying, “Murray was sick that’s why. I thought he was really good, I mean I don’t love the fourth goal but other than that I thought he was solid.”

Nonetheless, with Stolarz potentially out of the danger zone and recovering, the onus lies on his replacement, Joseph Woll, to step up for the Maple Leafs. However, it won’t be a cakewalk for them, especially playing on the Panthers’ home ground. It’ll be interesting to see what goods do the Maple Leafs come up with to make a strong comeback. The next game between them takes place later tomorrow.