Stolarz Bails Out the Leafs in a 6-2 Win at Columbus
The scoreboard says Toronto cruised. The ice told a different story: Columbus had the puck more, shot more and created more dangerous looks, and Anthony Stolarz is the reason none of it mattered in a 6-2 Maple Leafs win.
The Blue Jackets outshot Toronto 35-22 and took 65 shot attempts to Toronto's 43. By expected goals -- how many goals a team's chances were worth -- Columbus generated 3.69 to Toronto's 2.76. On a normal night, that is a Blue Jackets game.
Instead, Stolarz stopped 33 of 35 shots, including 12 of the 13 high-danger looks he faced. He saved more than his workload suggested he should, by a margin of goals saved above expected of +1.69 -- roughly two goals erased by his own hands. At the other end, Jet Greaves allowed five goals on 19 shots, and the bounces never came back for Columbus.
Toronto even left one on the table: Easton Cowan rang a shot off the crossbar.
The win lifts the Leafs to 4-4-2, still in the wild-card chase. They will not want to lean on their goalie this hard every night.
