Leafs insist retribution not a focus after Bennett avoids discipline
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The Maple Leafs held an optional practice at Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday. The Florida Panthers held a media availability at their hotel.
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Panthers centre Sam Bennett will not face supplemental discipline for his forearm to the head of Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz.
"Looking back at the video, really the contact that was made was, in my opinion, it's really just a bump," Bennett told reporters at the team hotel. "There was no forceful action. I mean, I'm trying to score. The last thing in my mind is about elbowing him in the head. When it happened, I didn't even realize that I had made contact. There wasn't a ton of force in it."
Stolarz initially stayed in the game after taking the contact in the second period. A few minutes later he vomited at the bench during a TV timeout and headed for the dressing room. The 31-year-old left the building on a stretcher and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
Bennett messaged Stolarz after the game. The pair were teammates last season when the Panthers won the Stanley Cup.
"Stolie's a great friend of mine," Bennett said. "When I hear that he went to the hospital of course I feel bad."
Craig Berube was unhappy with the play, which also went unpenalized during the game.
"Elbow to the head," the Leafs coach fumed in the immediate aftermath of Monday's 5-4 win. "Clear as day."
Berube and several Leafs players expressed hope that the league would take action.
On Tuesday, Berube cut off a question about the league's decision not to discipline Bennett.
"I've moved on from it," he said. "I don't want to talk about it. It's over."
Panthers coach Paul Maurice also sounded eager to move on after seeing other controversial hits by Bennett replayed as part of the post-game coverage. Bennett knocked Leafs winger Matthew Knies out of the second round series between the teams two years ago with a takedown, which resulted in a concussion.
"There was a hit two and a half years ago that you guys have shown 4,000 times," Maurice told reporters. "There was a parking ticket seven years ago that I think actually made the video. He's got the puck, he's on a power play, he goes to the net. He's not through the paint. He's got the puck, he's going to the net ... Like, call the fire department, put your hair out and let's move on, please."
Berube has stressed the need for his team to be disciplined and remain composed since the start of the playoffs. He made it clear that the Leafs will not be seeking retribution in Game 2.
"I talk to my players about focusing on the game and playing the game hard and playing it the right way," Berube said. "There's an opportunity to take the body on somebody, I don't care who it is, you go through them ... You're going to go out and think you're going to get back at Bennett and you end up in a penalty box, and we don't need that."
Defenceman Jake McCabe was quick to point out that the Panthers scored on the power play in Game 1.
"So there you go right there is an example of why we need to continue to stay out of the box and try to provide ourselves opportunities to put them in the box," he said.
The Panthers led the league in hits in the regular season, and they lead the playoffs in hits per 60 minutes. But the Leafs feel like they matched Florida's intensity in Game 1.
"We have to play with emotions, but we also have to be smart about it," said veteran winger Max Pacioretty. "This group has stuck together and stood up for one another and played for one another all year, and this is going to be another example of that."
The Panthers were credited with 51 hits in Game 1 while the Leafs racked up 24.
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Stolarz rejoined the team at the practice facility on Tuesday morning.
"I think he's doing well," said defenceman Brandon Carlo. "I'll allow coach to give any updates on that. But, overall, I like the way that he looked this morning when I got to see him for a smile at breakfast. So that's always a good thing."
Berube did not offer much of an update on Stolarz.
"He's doing well," the coach said. "He's here. He's doing good."
Is he available to play in Game 2?
"We'll see. I don't know that yet."
Has he been diagnosed with a concussion?
"I don't know that either."
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Despite Berube's comments, it seems highly unlikely that Stolarz will be able to return to game action on Wednesday. That means Joseph Woll is in line to make his first start since the regular season finale on April 17.
"Played a lot of good games, a lot of good hockey for us this year," Berube said. "Stolie, he was out for, what, two months? I don't know. Can't remember the timeline, but he was in there holding the fort for us. We've got a ton of faith in him."
When Stolarz missed time with a knee injury from Dec. 12 to Feb. 6, Woll went 12-7-0 with a .904 save percentage.
But Stolarz, who finished the regular season with the top save percentage in the NHL, outplayed Woll down the stretch to earn the starting job in the playoffs.
Woll impressed Berube with his focused approach while waiting for his next chance.
"He's a worker," the coach said. "Very dedicated to what he's doing off the ice and on the ice. He's one of the most dedicated guys I've been around in that aspect. He works at his game constantly. Great teammate. He's a great teammate. He does what he needs to be ready to play."
Woll looked a bit shaky in allowing three goals on 20 shots on Monday, but coming in cold is not easy, especially after seeing Stolarz exit in the manner he did.
"You go from kind of chillin' to be, you know, front line of the action," the 26-year-old said.
This is not an unfamiliar situation for Woll. During the 2023 playoffs, he replaced Ilya Samsonov, who got hurt in Game 3 of the second round series against Florida. Last year, Woll replaced Samsonov due to performance in the first-round series against the Boston Bruins. Woll posted consecutive wins to help Toronto force a Game 7. He missed the deciding game due to a back injury.
"Joe's awesome," said Carlo, who was acquired from the Bruins at the trade deadline. "I feel like we've got some great riches here with having two goalies as good as they are. His poise in the net behind us has been a great thing. And, as a defensive guy, I love playing in front of both of them. So I think Joe can definitely handle anything that's thrown at him."
Woll owns an impressive .924 save percentage in eight career playoff appearances with four of those coming in relief.
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Even with Stolarz leaving the game, the Leafs had the edge in net in Game 1. Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky allowed five goals on 30 shots.
Knies scored the game-winning goal on a breakaway in the third period.
"I just wanted to beat him high on the glove side," Knies said. "We did a lot of video. And I got him earlier in the regular season. I just wanted to elevate that one."
Knies is second on the team with four goals in the playoffs.
What impresses Berube the most?
"He's got great hands in tight," the coach said. "And I didn't know this coming in here. You see the power in his skating and the physicality and that sort of stuff, but the hands are really good in tight."
"He's a pit bull out there with some nice hands," said defenceman Chris Tanev. "And when he seems to get half a step on guys, it's tough for anyone to catch him."
Knies is up to seven goals and 12 points in 21 career playoff games. Toronto's youngest player seems very comfortable in the spotlight.
"The puck finding the back of the net is giving me a lot of confidence right now," he said. "I just want to keep doing that and just keep playing my simple game. I think that's definitely what's helping."
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William Nylander scored on a five-hole shot in the first minute on Monday to get the Leafs off to a strong start.
"Huge goal," said Tanev. "Gets the crowd right into it, sets the tone for how we wanted to play."
Nylander added another goal in the first period and, like Knies, beat Bobrovsky high on the glove side in a 1-on-1 situation. Nylander added an assist on a goal by defenceman Morgan Rielly later in the opening frame.
It was the second straight three-point game for Nylander, who also had two goals and an assist in the series clincher in Ottawa last week.
"I don't know about his golf game, but I would hate to bet against him," said Pacioretty. "He seems like he would never miss a small putt. He's got ice in his veins. Sometimes in the playoffs after a good game, like he had in Game 6, it's easy to kind of sit back and say, 'You know I'm good here for a little bit,' but he comes out and scores 30 seconds in, first shot of the game, and it kind of shows how clutch he is, and how well he's able to perform under pressure."
Pacioretty, who was elevated to the second line with John Tavares and Nylander to start Game 6 in Ottawa, posted a second straight two-point performance. He feels like the physical nature of this series against Florida will serve him well.
"That's when I can slot in and help the team and the line in that area," the 36-year-old said. "I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. I'm trying to get the puck to two of the best players on the planet as much as I can and make life a little bit easier on them and harder on the opponent. And, at this stage, I know what's effective and that's to give them the puck."
Pacioretty leads the Leafs in hits since entering the lineup five games ago.
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The Leafs power play failed to convert on five chances in Game 1 and struggled to combat Florida's swarming penalty kill.
"It's highly aggressive," Berube said. "It's about doing things quickly and passing the puck quickly. Moving it and getting it to the net. If you think that you're going to come up with other ideas, it's not going to work."
The Tampa Bay Lightning found that out the hard way. The Lightning converted on just two of 18 chances in the first round. It's a big reason why Florida advanced in five games.
The Panthers have now killed off 91.3 per cent of opponent power plays in the playoffs.
"You have an aggressive PK like that, you've got to move the puck quick and you've got to shoot," said Berube. "When there's scrums and things like that, you've got to attack off them because they're out of position. We did a few things like that where it was good and we had some good looks, but it didn't go in and we've got to look at it and we'll be better."
During Toronto's final power play in the third period, the Leafs went away from the five-forward look as Rielly replaced Knies on the top unit.
"You are up by a goal," Berube explained. "That has always been in the plan. It is all a feel thing. It is designed that way."
The Leafs surrendered two shorthanded goals to the Senators in the first round.
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None of the players who suited up in Game 1 took the ice for Tuesday's optional practice.
Leafs lines in Game 1:
Knies - Matthews - Marner
Pacioretty - Tavares - Nylander
Lorentz - Laughton - Jarnkrok
McMann - Domi - Holmberg
McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson
Stolarz
Woll