Panthers enjoyed watching Anthony Stolarz ‘flash some leather’ as they snapped losing streak
Twice in the third period Monday with the Florida Panthers leading by a goal, backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz had to come up with game-defining saves against the Nashville Predators.
Both times, Stolarz found himself successful.
The first came with about 12:30 left in regulation, when Stolarz made a glove save on a Gustav Nyquist shot attempt on a rebound while sprawled out on the ice after making an initial save against Colton Sissons.
And then, with the Predators on a power play, Stolarz denied Nashville’s Tommy Novak, who attempted a backhanded shot from up close.
“It was fun to watch him flash some leather,” center Sam Bennett said.
Stolarz’s dominance in net did wonders for the Panthers in their eventual 4-1 win over the Predators at Bridgestone Arena — a win that snapped Florida’s season-long four-game losing streak.
Stolarz stopped 26 of 27 shots that came his way overall on Monday.
“Every detail was really sharp,” Stolarz said. “We were on a four-game skid, but at the same time we felt like we were playing well and the bounces just weren’t quite going our way. It definitely feels good to get this one.”
And as he has done most times this season when in the net, Stolarz stepped up when his name was called. He doesn’t play as much, understandably so considering Sergei Bobrovsky is the team’s starter and has been having arguably his best season so far in his five-year stint with the Panthers.
But after Monday’s win, Stolarz is 7-4-2 through 14 games (12 starts) with a 2.12 goals against average and .917 save percentage.
His numbers, however, really jump out when playing on the road. Stolarz is 5-2-1 with a 1.81 goals against average and .930 save percentage when playing away from Amerant Bank Arena.
“Everybody pulls for the backup goaltender,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He doesn’t get in the net as much but has played really, really well for us. He’s earned the right to be good.”
On Monday, he was a perfect 11 for 11 in the third period and stopped all eight high-danger shots that came his way, according to the advanced hockey statistics website Natural Stat Trick.
“He made some awesome saves,” said forward Carter Verhaeghe, who scored the game-winning goal 1:11 into the third period. “There were a couple times where we left the guy alone in front, and he came up huge.”
Added Stolarz: “Just tried to see every shot and just try to stop it. They’re a big physical team, and they get a lot of traffic in front. I thought the defense did a great job, especially in that third period, letting me see that shot. And it’s just up to me to kind of handle the rebounds.”
Up next
The Panthers return home to face the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. at Amerant Bank Arena.
After that, they play a back-to-back on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday and New York Islanders on Saturday to cap their schedule ahead of the All-Star Break.
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