Maple Leafs goaltender calls out his teammates after another bad game
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Anthony Stolarz did not dodge the moment. After the Toronto Maple Leafs wrapped up a pointless six-game homestand with a 1-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, the veteran goaltender delivered the most honest assessment of the season so far.
Stolarz was strong himself, stopping 22 of 23 shots, yet it was not enough. Toronto fell to 8-12-2 and was held to just nine goals across the six games.
Speaking afterward, as relayed by Arun Srinivasan, Stolarz made it clear he was not interested in sugarcoating anything.
Stolarz Puts the Blame on the Room
It sucks. It's not fun. You wanna put on a show for the fans and get everyone excited. We dug ourselves a little bit of a hole here and we have no one to blame but ourselves. I think it's gut check time, and we have to look at ourselves in the mirror.
Stolarz has done his part. He sits at 5-4-0 with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage, numbers that hold up fine behind a team that has struggled to score.
Even so, he pointed the finger inward instead of at anyone outside the dressing room.
A Historic Low for Toronto
The numbers around the homestand are ugly. According to The Faceoff Circle, the Leafs matched the 1971-72 Los Angeles Kings as the only teams to host six straight games and collect zero points.
Saturday was arguably Toronto's best effort of the stretch, which only underlines how little the team has to show for it.
Edmonton goaltender Devon Levi earned his first NHL shutout with 19 saves, and Evan Bouchard supplied the only goal.
The loss capped a 12-day stretch that went 0-6-0, and his willingness to say it out loud suggests the frustration in that dressing room is very real.
Now the question is whether his gut check call sparks a response from a team sitting at 8-12-2. Words are cheap after six straight losses, and the only way the Leafs change the conversation is by winning games.
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