Leafs HC Craig Berube makes his thoughts clear on Anthony Stolarz starting tonight against Columbus

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube confirmed that Anthony Stolarz would start in goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. The goalie has a .931 save percentage in his last four starts.

Nick Barden, a writer for The Hockey News, posted Berube’s quote on X (formerly Twitter).

"I liked his last game a lot, and I just think I can get him in consecutive games here. Then we have a back-to-back series against Florida teams... I was trying to find a little consistency here moving forward as we go along," Berube said.

The Leafs secured a playoff berth by defeating the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Wednesday. Stolarz made 29 saves in the game, including a crucial one to deny Panthers forward A.J. Greer with the score tied at 1-1.

“At the end of the day my job is to stop the puck, and you look down and (Bobrovsky) is making save after save so I kind of knew that I have to dial it in, but it’s going to be like that every night as we get closer and closer to playoffs,” Stolarz said via NHL.com.

“Teams are fighting for position, their goalies are going to be on and you’re going to have to match them and I’m up to that challenge.”

John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Knies were the goal-scorers for the Leafs. Berube praised his team’s gritty performance after the contest.

“Overall, I think that’s the type of hockey we knew we had to play against Florida,” Berube said via NHL.com. “There’s no room, so you have to fight for space, you’re skating and it’s a lot of stuff around your net. It’s just winning battles, winning puck battles constantly.”

The veteran HC would expect a similar performance against the Blue Jackets on Saturday.

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NHL insider backs Anthony Stolarz to perform well in the playoffs

On Thursday, NHL insider and former player Mike Johnson backed Stolarz to do well during the playoffs, despite the goalie’s inexperience. The 31-year-old Stolarz has played only one playoff game in his career and has never started.

“The game, I don't think, changes nearly as much for a goalie as it does for the players,” Johnson said. “The commitment to physicality, the time and space, all that stuff for the players, which is drastically different. Like, guys aren't shooting the puck harder in the playoffs, right?

"That kind of stuff doesn't happen for goaltenders; the game is closer to the regular season.”

The Leafs are looking to break a Stanley Cup drought that has lasted 56 seasons for the franchise. And Stolarz has to bring his A-game to every contest for them to do that.