‘Intimidating player': Sam Bennett becomes the villain again after unpenalized Anthony Stolarz hit

New York Times

06-05-2025

TORONTO — The first game in a series between Florida and Toronto ended with Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz in hospital for evaluation, his coach Craig Berube crying foul about the unpenalized incident that sent him there and a usual suspect likely to escape any further discipline from the NHL.
Any joy the Leafs felt following Monday's 5-4 victory was overshadowed by concern for Stolarz and exasperation about a forearm to the head he received from Panthers forward Sam Bennett shortly before becoming physically ill.
'Elbow to the head,' said Berube. 'Clearly. Clear as day.'
It was not clear to referees Chris Rooney and Graham Skilliter, neither of whom called a penalty when Bennett skated out from behind the Toronto goal and caught an unsuspecting Stolarz on the left side of his mask at 7:20 of the second period.
The force of the blow knocked Stolarz to the ice, and the officials stopped play. He initially remained in the net and played another two-plus minutes of the game — spanning roughly nine minutes in actual time — before skating over to the Leafs bench and throwing up.
Sam Bennett makes contact with the head of Anthony Stolarz who is slow to get up 🫣 pic.twitter.com/BjnhbA4Ysm
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 6, 2025
That prompted backup Joseph Woll to come in for the remaining 29:46 while Stolarz was tended to in the Leafs dressing room. He was eventually wheeled out of the building on a stretcher during the third period and taken to hospital for evaluation, according to league sources.
'He's being evaluated,' said Berube. 'That's all I've got for ya.'
Bennett did not speak with the media after the game. He was requested to talk, but Panthers PR said he would not be made available.
To be fair, this is routine for teams in the playoffs who may worry about the NHL Department of Player Safety entering the picture, not wanting a player to say anything publicly that may incriminate himself before he has a chance to explain his actions to the league. So while frustrating from a media perspective, it was probably wise for the Panthers not to have Bennett talk after the final buzzer.
As per league sources, Player Safety was looking at the incident, which is no surprise because Player Safety looks at anything that's even remotely close to crossing the line, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will rise to anything. Sources indicated early Tuesday that Bennett was unlikely to face a fine or suspension stemming from the forearm to Stolarz's head, although the decision wasn't considered final.
The Leafs, internally, felt Monday night it was worthy of a suspension.
Part of the discussion, perhaps, within the group at Player Safety might also be the fact Stolarz took a wrist shot to the head in the first period from Sam Reinhart, which knocked off the goalie's mask. Could that have also contributed to Stolarz's eventual exit?
first save of the night for Stolarz off the chin pic.twitter.com/9MF4tJSgqA
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) May 6, 2025
Only captain Aleksander Barkov and forward Eetu Luostarinen spoke with the media after the game among Panthers players. Stolarz is a former teammate of both and was part of the Stanley Cup-winning squad last year.
Barkov said he didn't see the incident involving Bennett and Stolarz.
'I can't really say anything about it at the moment, I didn't see it, but I hope he's OK,' Barkov said of his former goalie. 'He's a big man, so hopefully he's OK.'
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice was asked what he saw from his vantage point on the visitor's bench.
'Not nearly as good as the referee's vantage point,' Maurice said, pointing to the fact there was no penalty called on the play. 'He (the ref) was standing right there. He saw it. Coaches coach. You know what, hopeful for Anthony and his health. We love that guy and we hope he gets better real fast.'
Maurice was asked a second time by late-arriving media at his news conference about the incident and reiterated his stance.
'The referee is standing right there when it happened,'' he said. 'You (the media) will do your thing, the league will do its thing. And I'll coach the next game.'
Bennett has been down this road before. He's an expert at getting under his opponents' skin and straddling the line between right and wrong.
Two years ago, he knocked Leafs forward Matthew Knies out of a second-round series in Game 2 with a concussion when he picked him up behind the net and drove him into the ice. The puck was nowhere nearby, but no supplemental discipline was handed out.
Similarly, Bennett faced no punishment during the second round against Boston last year after catching Brad Marchand with a sneaky gloved punch in Game 3 and knocking the former Bruins captain out of the series for two games.
'I think he got away with a shot, but I'm not going to complain,' Marchand, now a Panthers teammate, later said of that incident. 'S— happens. That's part of playoff hockey. I've been on the other side of a lot of plays. I think that he got away with one, but that's part of the game and definitely part of playoff hockey.'
In the heat of the moment, the Leafs didn't seem inclined to be quite so understanding.
Knies called Bennett an 'intimidating player' after the series-opening win and expressed hope that the NHL would look closely at the incident and 'protect our players.'
'When you see your teammate go down like that, it's not good,' Woll said. 'When he goes down on the ice or when he wasn't feel well coming to the bench. These guys are trying to create a family atmosphere in here, so it's just like one of your family members.'
(Photo of Anthony Stolarz: John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)