Stolarz helps Maple Leafs defeat Bruins following injury scare

BOSTON -- Anthony Stolarz made 18 saves in his first start since a pregame injury scare three days earlier, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Boston Bruins 4-2 at TD Garden on Tuesday.

Stolarz missed an expected start at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday after taking a puck to the throat during warmups. He went to the hospital before rejoining the team for the flight home to Toronto that night following the 5-2 loss.

“Since the (Olympic) break I’ve been playing exceptionally well, so I just wanted to keep that rolling,” said Stolarz, who is 2-2-2 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in seven games (six starts) dating to Feb. 25. “You look down the other end and there’s one of the better goalies in the League in (Jeremy) Swayman, so you know you have to be on your game. He played fantastic to go back and forth save for save, and games like that for a goalie are pretty exciting.”

Stolarz wore a neck guard during the game. 

“It’s fine,” he said. “I’ve worn it growing up. It’s a little annoying, but you’re so dialed in that you don’t really notice it too much.”

Matthew Knies scored twice, William Nylander had a goal and an assist, and John Tavares had three assists for the Maple Leafs (30-29-13), who had lost three in a row (0-2-1).

“Unreal,” Tavares said of Stolarz’s performance. “Obviously, we got ourselves in a little bit of penalty trouble, and the PK overall (did well), and certainly some unbelievable saves on some pretty good shooters. He kept the game in a good spot for us, and we were able to earn some power plays of our own and continued to build momentum, build our game and get rewarded to put ourselves in a good spot and compete right to the end to get the win.” 

Elias Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy scored, and Swayman made 31 saves for the Bruins (39-24-8), who were 3-0-2 in their previous five. 

Boston leads the Ottawa Senators by one point for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference and is also two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division.

“We were just flat,” Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov said. “We didn’t have emotions against the Toronto Maple Leafs and that’s on us for sure, and we’ve got to do better than that. It’s important points for us at home and to drop it like this is embarrassing.” 

Lindholm gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 5:04 of the first period. He took a pass from Morgan Geekie on a 2-on-1 and scored with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle that went in off the far post.

Knies’ short-handed goal tied it 1-1 at 7:27 of the second period. He won a footrace with Boston defenseman Mason Lohrei to a loose puck in the neutral zone, broke in alone and beat Swayman to the blocker side. 

“We’re all very aware of how strong he is. It always impresses you when he pulls it off,” Tavares said of Knies. “His ability to just be so strong and how physically mature he is; he’s a beast. He’s a very unique player at his age (23) to have that type of strength, and then after that to have the soft hands, poise and touch (on his empty-net goal later in the game). He’s got a nice package as a player, and we’re lucky to have him.”

The Maple Leafs took a 2-1 lead during a 4-on-3 man-advantage when Max Domi scored at 18:08. He finished a give-and-go with Tavares by scoring through the five-hole after a forehand-backhand deke.

After the Bruins killed off the remaining 2:53 of a five-minute major to Zadorov to start the third period, Nylander made it 3-1 at 3:00. His shot from a sharp angle along the right side beat Swayman.

“Special teams were a big key, obviously, with the penalties and the PK did a really good job, and the power play came up with a big goal,” said Toronto coach Craig Berube, whose team was 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. “And, our goalie was really good.” 

McAvoy’s power-play goal cut the deficit to 3-2 at 5:08. David Pastrnak took a one-timer from the left circle that ricocheted off McAvoy, who leaped in an attempt to avoid the shot before it hit his skate and slipped past Stolarz. 

When asked to describe the game, McAvoy said, “Flat. We tried our best to talk about it before the game what this would be like coming off a very emotional win (4-2 at the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday) and playing against a team that’s obviously not in the (playoff picture) that we’re in. We talked about it all day today that we couldn’t show up flat and we still did. It just wasn’t good enough for us.” 

Knies scored an empty-net goal with 22 seconds remaining for the 4-2 final.

“Playing Boston is always a big match, a big rival game,” Berube said, “and coming in we have our mentors (on the trip), so guys have a lot to play for, which is good, and they want to play well for their guys and it was a good team effort. Everybody contributed and did their job tonight.” 

NOTES: Nylander reached 25 goals in a season for the sixth time. ... McAvoy scored his 70th career goal and is one of nine defensemen in Bruins history to reach the mark. He has recorded a point in 27 of his past 31 games dating to Dec. 31.