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Anthony Stolarz will tend goal for the Maple Leafs in the opening game of the 2024-25 season tonight in Montreal (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet).

Leafs fans everywhere were experiencing Game 7-morning-skate-in-Boston flashbacks when the news broke that Joseph Woll is yet again battling a lower-body injury and won’t start for tonight’s season opener as anticipated. To accommodate the call-up of Dennis Hildeby to back up Stolarz, Woll was moved to IR and Connor Dewar was shifted to LTIR (meaning Dewar won’t be a lineup factor for 24 days/10 games).

In Woll’s place starts summer signing Anthony Stolarz, who has spoken many times about his desire to battle for more time in the crease and potentially set a new career high in games started this season (his current career high is 28 starts set in Anaheim in 2021-22). The opportunity for the massive Stolarz to put down a marker came earlier than anticipated, with Woll’s durability remaining a massive question mark entering the new season.

Stolarz is one of five players making their official Leafs debuts tonight, joining Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Steven Lorentz, and Max Pacioretty. After a summer in which the blue line was Brad Treliving’s primary focus, just two of the Leafs‘ six defensemen from last season’s season opener will dress tonight:

The Leafs are also looking to give new head coach Craig Berube the debut celebration he’s seeking while hopefully getting off to a better start to their divisional record in 2024-25.

The Leafs finished with an 11-12-3 record versus Atlantic Division opponents last season, effectively relinquishing any chance at a division title or home-ice advantage in round one. Contrast this with their sparking 24-6-2 record against the Western Conference, and it’s clear the Leafs need to bear down in these rivalry games more this season if they want to better set themselves up for success at playoff time. No better time to start turning the page on this narrative than the season opener in Montreal under their new bench boss.

Game Day Quotes

Steven Lorentz ahead of his first official game as a Maple Leaf:

It’s game day, baby. New season. Very exciting, especially to be wearing these colours. There are a lot of emotions. I am excited to get it going tonight.

Craig Berube on his confidence in Anthony Stolarz:

I thought he had a solid game in Detroit and even before that in practices. He is a big guy who takes up a lot of net. He looks very confident to me in the net right now.

Lorentz on former Panthers teammate and now-Leafs teammate Anthony Stolarz taking the first start of the season:

He is always ready when called on. He has done it his whole career. I have the most confidence in him.

Going back to last season, it doesn’t matter who was between the pipes. You knew he was going to bring it. I think our group has already seen the flashes of it in the preseason with some of the big saves he has made. Those are a little more flashy; he is usually just calm and collected in the net.

Whether it is Woller or [Hildeby] in net, we have great depth in the system. They are all big guys who take up a lot of net. It is pretty intimidating to be a shooter against those guys.

It will be a good test for [Stolarz], but I know he is up for it.

Max Pacioretty on Anthony Stolarz:

Really, really, really good goalie. I don’t think I scored a single goal on him in the first four or five practices. It was starting to get me pretty upset.

He is massive in there. He is really big and takes up a lot of net. It is easy to say he is big, but sometimes, big goalies have holes, whether it is a hole down by their feet or whatnot. He is just a very big presence in the net, and it is hard to see any net when he is in there.

In the first four or five days, it was like, “Am I going to score a goal on this guy in practice all year?” It is why teams want to draft big goalies and why a lot of the top goalies are big. He is athletic. He is a special player.

Berube on the team’s confidence in Dennis Hildeby in the fill-in backup role: 

He had a good camp and played a really good, strong game in preseason. He is young, and I didn’t know him before I got here, but he looks really comfortable, calm, and cool in the net. He is a big goalie who takes up a lot of net.

Berube on Max Pacioretty earning a contract and a spot in the opening-night lineup:

We weren’t sure, with the injuries he has had in the last few years. It has been hard on him. To me, he looked better and better as camp went on along, getting his feet under him.

We like his ability to score goals, number one. Number two, he is a big, strong guy who can hang onto pucks in the offensive zone. He is a veteran player who is responsible.

Pacioretty on the feeling of entering his old stomping grounds in Montreal: 

I don’t think too much about that anymore. I am just grateful to be here playing this game. I know it is a big storyline — I have been asked about it a lot — and I have a lot of friends here who work in the building. But truthfully, I am at the stage in my career where I am just thankful to be here, and I take every day as a blessing.

Pacioretty on how he can help the Leafs get over the hump at this stage in his career:

I haven’t won, and they haven’t won. We are all trying to achieve the same thing together.

They have a ton of skill in here. Being able to play different roles in the lineup is going to be important for me and the team, whether it is to bring some physicality or help out some young guys. I took on a role like that last year, and it was new for me to play down the lineup and help out some young guys. I think our line last year helped get the [Capitals] to the playoffs.

It is a bit of a different situation than you’re used to compared to when you are 22 years old scoring at the Bell Centre and feeling like you are the man, but at the same time, you have to take less to help the team. I am at that stage in my career where there are different opportunities to help the team win games. I am looking forward to it.

Pacioretty on his personal goals for the 2024-25 season: 

I want to win. Personally, I have a lot to prove that I can help a team. There are different ways you can help a team win. We have some of the best offensive players in the world here. People wondered, “Why are you going there,” but there is a good team with a chance to win. Sometimes, you have to take less to win. That is the situation I am in right now.

I am not just here to score goals or do some of the things I have done in the past. I am in a different stage of my career now. Looking forward to it.

Simon Benoit on his first-ever opening-day game in the NHL:

This is pretty special. It is my fourth year in the NHL, but it is my first opening night. I am pretty pumped about it. I worked hard for this. I am excited about tonight, especially knowing it is Montreal in front of family. It’s cool.

Benoit on the number of tickets he purchased for friends and family:

I think I am playing for free tonight.

Martin St. Louis on his goaltending situation entering the new season: 

Sam (Montembeault), in the last few years, has separated himself a little bit. To the point where I am going to say he is going to be the number one all season? I can’t say that, but I would say that he is getting the first game. On a back-to-back, you are going to see both, and then we are going to manage the schedule based on their performance.

Both goaltenders (Montembeault and Primeau) progressed very well. I expect the same. I am not going to sit here and say Monty is going to be the number one all season, but I think he has an opportunity to do that.

We are very confident in that position based on what we saw last year. If we can [tighten] things up in front of them, it is going to be easier for them to continue progressing.

Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens

In the 2023-24 regular season statistics, the Leafs held the advantage over the Canadiens in five out of five offensive categories and three out of five defensive categories.

Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies — #34 Auston Matthews — #16 Mitch Marner
#11 Max Domi — #91 John Tavares — #88 William Nylander
#67 Max Pacioretty — #29 Pontus Holmberg — #89 Nick Robertson
#18 Steven Lorentz — #64 David Kampf — #75 Ryan Reaves

Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly — #8 Chris Tanev
#95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson — #22 Jake McCabe
#2 Simon Benoit — #25 Conor Timmins

Goaltenders
#41 Anthony Stolarz
#35 Dennis Hildeby

Extras: Philippe Myers, Bobby McMann, Timothy Liljegren
Injured (IR): Joseph Woll
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok, Jani Hakanpaa, Connor Dewar, Dakota Mermis

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lines

Forwards
#13 Cole Caufield — #14 Nick Suzuki — #20 Juraj Slafkovsky
#15 Alex Newhook — #77 Kirby Dach — #40 Joel Armia
#27 Alex Barre-Boulet — #28 Christian Dvorak — #17 Josh Anderson
#11 Brendan Gallagher — #71 Jake Evans — #51 Emil Heineman

Defensemen
#8 Mike Matheson — #21 Kaiden Guhle
#48 Lane Hutson — #58 David Savard
#72 Arber Xhekaj — #52 Justin Barron

Goaltenders
#35 Samuel Montembeault
#30 Cayden Primeau

Injured/Out: Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Patrik Laine, David Reinbacher

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