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<\/p>\nTORONTO \u2014 Anthony Stolarz was still steaming mad.<\/p>\n
And it wasn\u2019t about Mason Marchment charging into him during the Toronto Maple Leafs\u2019 eventual overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken. No, the goaltender was mad about the way his team played in front of him, and he showed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought the first two periods we kinda let them walk all over us,\u201d Stolarz said of Saturday\u2019s 4-3 loss. \u201cThey outworked us in front of the net. They blocked shots, they beat us up and down the ice and the score was indicative of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just outworked us, plain and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stolarz tossed the net out of his way to go after Marchment for crashing into him during the second period, but he wasn\u2019t bothered by the encroachment after the fact.<\/p>\n
Quite the opposite. He wanted his own team to do more of that. A lot more of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we gotta start going to the cage a little harder, make it harder for their goalies,\u201d Stolarz said. \u201cIt\u2019s not fun \u2014 I don\u2019t like having 225-pound guys laying on me. Hopefully we learn a lesson here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stolarz noted how the Leafs played offence, shovelling pucks from down low to the points. \u201cBut for their goalie, it\u2019s like playing catch in the yard. He\u2019s seeing everything. We\u2019re not making it difficult,\u201d Stolarz said of the team\u2019s play around the opposition net. \u201cWe made it difficult in the third (period) and look what happened. We came out, tied the game, got a point out of it, almost scored with five seconds left. But it\u2019s too little, too late. We\u2019re six games into the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough\u2019s enough. We kinda got to start picking it up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Leafs were largely outplayed for the first 40 minutes by a Kraken team that missed the playoffs last season.<\/p>\n
The second period was particularly one-sided. The Leafs chased the Kraken around the Toronto zone for extended periods, failing to control play as Stolarz tried and mostly excelled in keeping his team in it. Seattle scored twice in the period, including the kind of goal from Vince Dunn that Stolarz would probably like to see his team replicate.<\/p>\n
Dunn fired from the point just as Jaden Schwartz competed for ice in front of Stolarz\u2019s crease. Brandon Carlo shoved Schwartz into the goaltender. Stolarz couldn\u2019t make the save as a result.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Jaden Schwartz was shoved into Anthony Stolarz by Brandon Carlo on Seattle\u2019s third goal. (Nick Turchiaro \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Soon after, Marchment crashed into his crease.<\/p>\n
Stolarz tried to take matters into his own hands when there was no immediate response from his teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not happy,\u201d Stolarz said of his reaction to the play. \u201cGuys are gonna run me and I\u2019m gonna try to stand up for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was pleased when the ref informed him that the Leafs would be granted a power play for goaltender interference.<\/p>\n
The Leafs rallied to tie the score in the third on John Tavares\u2019 second goal. They lost it in overtime when Josh Mahura beat William Nylander up the ice and to the net before beating Stolarz for the game winner.<\/p>\n
Nylander\u2019s effort on the play didn\u2019t please Stolarz.<\/p>\n
\u201cOvertime, you can\u2019t let someone beat you up the ice there. It\u2019s a clear-cut breakaway,\u201d he said. \u201cA minute left, you want to be on the ice in that situation, you gotta work hard, you gotta work back. It cost us a point there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nno better time to score your first goal as a #SeaKraken<\/a> \ud83d\udc99\ud83e\ude75 pic.twitter.com\/6GTLKszCNF<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) October 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Asked if these were simply early-season issues, a team trying to jell with a few new players in the mix, Stolarz said no.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of guys have been here for a while,\u201d said Stolarz. \u201cWe do have some time to jell. But at the end of the day, too, it\u2019s more or less just about working hard. Work hard, the results come. You saw it in the third period. We can\u2019t play for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, we gotta do it for a complete 60.\u201d<\/p>\n
His head coach, Craig Berube, agreed with Stolarz\u2019s general assessment, disappointed by his team\u2019s inconsistency in the performance against Seattle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t put it together for 60 minutes,\u201d Berube said, \u201cand that\u2019s what you get.\u201d<\/p>\n
Berube didn\u2019t think his team was doing enough to stand up for its goalie or make life around his net more difficult for opponents. It\u2019s something he\u2019s talked to his team about.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not clearing out the crease enough,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a willingness to do it more than anything for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Firmly entrenched as the No. 1 after a strong first season with the Leafs \u2014 and rewarded with a four-year contract extension<\/a> last month \u2014 Stolarz hasn\u2019t shied away from calling out his team\u2019s play in the early going this fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many points are we gonna leave out there?\u201d he added. \u201cThe potential\u2019s there. We have the skill, we have the grit, we have the grind. It\u2019s just frustrating that we just can\u2019t put it together right now.\u201d<\/p>\n