During a 3-1 victory on Friday over the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz was channeling the legacy of iconic Red Wings netminder Dominik Hasek. And he was taking it to a whole new level.
During his heyday while winning six Vezina Trophies, one of Hasek's patented moves during a goalmouth scramble was to toss away his goal stick and scoop up the puck with his blocker hand. Friday, Stolarz went part Dominator and part Magic Mike in making his unique save, doffing several articles of his gear before coming up with the puck while no less than nine skaters - and 18 razor-sharp skate blades - were scuffling around the area of his goal crease.
Losing first his stick and then his blocker in the scramble for the loose puck, Stolarz emerged from this pile of humanity gleefully holding his bare hanf forward to show the referee that he was in possession of the puck.
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His teammates were both happy that Stolarz made the save and didn't sacrifice any of his digits
"I didn't know where the puck was," Leafs forward Mitch Marner told TSN. "It was a bit of a dog pile in there. And it was nice to see him come out with the puck in his hand and still all five fingers."
From the point of view of Stolarz, he was simply living up to the goaltending mantra. Find a way to stop the puck in any manner possible.
"That definitely wasn't the plan," Stolarz explained. "I saw the puck laying there, took my chance and, kind of like a cobra. Just strike and get out of there."
New to the Maple Leafs this season, Stolarz iis second among NHL goalies in both goals-against average (2.00) and save percentage (930).