Bobrovsky took Toronto's money, and Stolarz took his net
Ten starts in, the two-time Cup winner sits at .885, and the goalie who once backed him up in Sunrise is 5-1.
Toronto calls itself the center of the hockey universe. Ten starts in, Sergei Bobrovsky has found the part of the universe where the pucks go in.
He's 3-5-2 with an .885 save percentage and a 3.29 goals-against average, per NHL data. Over his last five starts it's .871, by our count. That isn't a slump anymore, it's a lease with an option to renew.
Grade: D. I'd go lower, but the man won two Cups in Sunrise. Anybody who survives that humidity twice gets a curve from me.
The understudy took the stage
Here's what Leafs fans keep refreshing their phones about. Anthony Stolarz has started six games and gone 5-1-0 with a .910. He stopped 30 of 32 in a 7-2 win over Edmonton, McDavid and all.
"It's just any other opponent," Stolarz said afterward. Buddy, it was the Oilers. Act a little surprised.
And yes, Stolarz is the guy who backed up Bobrovsky during a Florida Cup run. The backup now has the better numbers, the hotter hand and the same dressing room. In Boston, that's a goalie controversy. In Toronto, it's a Tuesday.
The Seattle game
The low point was last Wednesday against the Kraken. Five goals on 17 shots, and the winner went in with 33 seconds left on one he should have had.
Seventeen shots. I've seen beer-league goalies at the Saturday midnight skate face more than that in warmups and still make last call.
Through Toronto's first 15 games, the coach never pulled him once. That's loyalty. In Boston, an .871 over five starts gets you a talk-radio segment named after you by Thursday.
Not a real award: The Seventeen Shot Special goes to the Leafs' crease on Wednesday night. Five goals on 17 shots, which is a conversion rate most power plays would kill for. Engraving to follow.
What Toronto does now
Toronto's next start went to Stolarz, which was smart, if about two weeks late.
Here's my take, and it isn't complicated. Ride the hot goalie until he cools off. Stolarz gets the net for the next three, and Bobrovsky gets the practice reps and the morning skates until the number moves. A guy paid like a starter doesn't get the net because of his paycheck. He gets it back by stopping pucks.
Grade for the Leafs: C. I keep an F-minus in my desk drawer just for them, but they finally made the right call.
Bobrovsky has two rings and one bad month. I'm not burying a guy who carried Florida through two springs. He's back over .900 by Christmas, and if he isn't, Toronto has the right guy already on the bench.
I said what I said.
