"Bring back Murray" "Who cursed us?": NHL fans react as Maple Leafs place Anthony Stolarz on IR after lower-body injury

The Toronto Maple Leafs (18-10-2) will be without goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who was placed on Injured Reserve retroactively on Thursday.

When an NHL player goes on Injured Reserve, he must miss a minimum of four games; this means that Stolarz is officially ineligible to play in Toronto's three upcoming matchups against the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, and Sabres again; he didn't dress for Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

After being signed by defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers over the summer, Stolarz has excelled in his first season with the Maple Leafs.

However, when Toronto's decision to place him on Injured Reserve became public, the fans took to social media to express their thoughts.

"Bring back Murray lol," a fan said.

"And here comes the issue with stolarz. Love the guy. But he has a history and with his size it’s not conducive to a long career," a fan added.

"Remember 2 days a go when it was day to day and notf a big deal... Matthews flys to German BC everything is fine. This management group can't be trusted... Don't follow the Jays lead," this fan opined.

"The Leafs’ special, day to day and then put on IR. Did the same with Matthews," a fan said.

"This sucks big time! Hopefully it’s not for long," this fan replied.

"Lol day to day...." this fan had a sarcastic response.

Craig Berube gives honest take on Maple Leafs' performance against Red Wings

Toronto Maple Leafs HC Craig Berube speaks to the media. (Credits: IMAGN)

Following Stolarz's injury announcement earlier this week, which occurred when he exited midway through the game against the Anaheim Ducks, the Toronto Maple Leafs called up Dennis Hildeby from their AHL team, the Toronto Marlies.

Hildeby served as backup to Joseph Woll, who started Saturday's game against the Red Wings.

Afterward, coach Craig Berube voiced his disappointment that the team had only 24 shots.

"I thought we competed hard and had a lot of good things going on in the game," Berube said. "We have to finish better. We can’t come out of the game with 24 shots on net only, whether it is a missed net or a blocked shot. Whatever the case, we have to find a way to get those onto the net more."

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a chance to right the ship when they host the struggling Buffalo Sabres, who have lost nine in a row, on Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena.