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Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was hospitalized after being hit by a puck in the throat during warmups before his start against the Ottawa Senators.
Stolarz was removed from Saturday’s game and taken off the ice where he went to the hospital as a precaution. He received some footage and was later released, according to NHL.com.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube had not heard from Stolarz after his team lost to the Senators, 5-2, although he believed he would meet with the team for their flight back to Toronto.
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Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz spits his water during the second period of an NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 15, 2026, at the Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Nick Wosika/Sportswire Icon)
The moment was captured by Sportsnet, where a shot was taken by a Maple Leafs player like a normal warmup. But it surprised Stolarz in the worst place – right between his towels and mask.
Stolarz quickly came out of the net and eventually entered the Maple Leafs tunnel before exiting the arena.
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William Nylander was the one who initiated the penalty kick that hit Stolarz in the throat, and he spoke about the freak incident after the loss.
“Obviously, it’s really hard to see this happening,” he said, according to the New York Post. “I mean, I always come up and shoot the puck in the glove, and it just came out a little bit to the left, and I hit him in the neck. So, I was obviously worried about him, but I’ve been texting with him. So, he seems to be OK.”
Anthony Stolarz of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms up before playing against the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena on March 12, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Mark Blinch/NHLI)
In turn, Joseph Woll took over in front of the net, but he did not have the best outing, with five goals allowed.
Stolarz, 32, from New Jersey, has an 8-9-3 record and .894 save percentage in 22 games with the Maple Leafs. This is his second season with Toronto after backing up Sergei Bobrovsky with the Florida Panthers in 2024.
Stolarz was part of the Panthers’ Stanley Cup-winning team that year.
He then signed a four-year, $15 million contract with the Maple Leafs in September 2025, despite knee surgery that limited him to 34 games during the 2024-25 campaign.
Anthony Stolarz of the Toronto Maple Leafs attends a game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on March 4, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)
Unfortunately, the injury problem continued this year, as Stolarz was forced to miss 33 games with an upper body injury earlier this season.
It’s been a tough season for the Maple Leafs, who are on the road with just 11 games remaining. They have 71 points, sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic Division with the Panthers.
