Leafs HC makes feelings known about expectations from Anthony Stolarz this season

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube spoke about his expectations from goaltender Anthony Stolarz this season after Toronto's 3-2 win over the New York Rangers on Friday night. Stolarz made 33 saves in the win while Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Matthew Knies and William Nylander scored for the Leafs.

When asked about his expectations from Stolarz, Berube said he didn't have concrete expectations coming into the year.

"I don’t know if I had expectations. He has been put into a role now where he is one of our starters and is playing a lot of games," Berube said.

"He did a good job in Florida when he played and won a lot of games there. For me, I didn’t have a ton of expectations on either of our goalies, but they have both played extremely well." (Starts 9:10)

Berube went on to praise Stolarz's communication and leadership abilities.

"He's very vocal and he's vocal in the locker room too at times, so, you know, he sees everything and sees the game well from the net and he lets our players know what's going on which is important," the coach remarked.

Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad tallied for New York and Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin made 14 saves in the loss. While happy with the win, Berube felt the Leafs were not at their best against New York.

"I mean little lackluster in my opinion, you know, but we found a way to get a win," he said.

Berube said the Leafs didn’t generate enough offensively. He felt their forecheck and hard play in the offensive zone were inconsistent, leading to too much time spent in their own end.

---

Anthony Stolarz's take on the Leafs 3-2 win over the Rangers

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz discussed how he was able to track the puck well against the Rangers' offense.

"They had a lot of guys rolling three high … we were looking for seams and I thought I tracked the seam passes as well," Anthony Stolarz said.

“Kind of was trying to beat the pass on my feet instead of just sliding, so, you know, I think like I said guys did a good job of any extra chances that they give up we kind of got out of harm’s way. " (from 5:32)

Overall, he felt good about how he followed the puck against a tough Rangers offense. Next is a matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday night.