By Canadian Press on April 8, 2026.
TORONTO (AP) — Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz left Wednesday’s game against the Washington Capitals early in the first period with a lower-body injury. The Toronto starter was hurt after stretching out his left leg to get a pad on Cole Hutson’s shot from distance. Stolarz immediately collapsed to the ice and pulled off his mask before one of the referees blew the play dead. The 32-year-old was attended to by a trainer and had to be helped off the ice by teammates before heading down the tunnel to the locker room. Stolarz, who missed significant time with an upper-body injury in the fall and has had trouble staying healthy throughout his time in Toronto, is 10-10-3 with a .892 save percentage and a 3.29 goals-against average in 2025-26. Joseph Woll replaced Stolarz for the Maple Leafs, who are set to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016. He has a 15-14-7 mark, .902 save percentage and 3.32 GAA this season. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl The Associated Press 11