Bennett avoids discipline for collision with Stolarz
Published
Florida Panthers centre Sam Bennett is not expected to face supplemental for his hit on Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz in Monday's Game 1, TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reports.
The Toronto Maple Leafs called on the NHL's Department of Player Safety to step in after goalie Anthony Stolarz was injured on the net-front collision in the second period of their 5-4 victory.
“Elbow to the head. Yeah. Clearly. Clear as day,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said of the incident post-game. “I think we handled it the way we should handle it. I'm not sure why there's not a call on it. But, I get it. They missed calls. But it's clearly a penalty."
“The ref was standing right there when it happened," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said, defending the on-ice decision without commenting further.
Stolarz initially remained in the game after taking Bennett's arm to his head and dropping to the ice during a Panthers power play in the second period. Roughly 10 minutes of real time after the incident, though, Stolarz threw up on the Leafs bench during a commercial break and was removed from the game. He later left Scotiabank Arena on a stretcher and was taken to a local hospital, per Johnston.
As of Tuesday morning, Stolarz had been released from hospital and is resting. An update on his status could come later in the day, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports.
Bennett told reporters Tuesday he reached out to Stolarz after Monday's game and did receive a response from his former teammate. He maintained there was no ill intent on the play.
"Stolie's a good friend of mine. I reached out to him. He responded," Bennett said. "Obviously, you never want to see an injury like that.
"From my point of view, I'm taking a puck to the net. I didn't even know we made contact until after. I'm on the power play. I'm trying to score."
Joseph Woll replaced Stolarz in net at the 10:14 mark of the second period, and the team announced that he would not return and was under evaluation at the beginning of the third period.
While the Maple Leafs did not retaliate on Bennett, the team made it clear they were expecting the league to step in.
“Well, they do their job. They'll look at everything and decide what's necessary," Berube said of Player Safety. "I know it's an elbow,”
"Hopefully the league will handle it and protect our players," said winger Matthew Knies, who was concussed by Bennett when the two teams met in the playoffs in 2023.
Bennett was not made available to the media after Game 1.
"Obviously we know him really well," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said of Stolarz after the loss. "He's played really well the whole year and [I'm] happy for him. So hopefully he's OK, but we're concentrating on our game."
Stolarz played all six games in Toronto's first-round series win over Ottawa, posting a 2.21 goals-against average and .901 save percentage.
He stopped eight of nine shots before his departure. Woll made 17 saves in relief.
Game 2 of the first round series is scheduled for Wednesday before play shifts to Florida for Game 3 on Friday.