Anthony Stolarz News
With John Gibson out with an injury, Stolarz will start the second game of the season. Stolarz has been terrific in eight career starts with Anaheim, going 4-4-0 with a 2.18 GAA and. 929 SV%. It's not the ideal matchup, facing a Wild team that ranked ninth in scoring (3.21 GF/gm) last year but he's a decent option if you're desperate for a late-week starter.
Stolarz was one of four Ducks' players that was added to the COVID-19 protocol list on Tuesday, putting Wednesday's game in jeopardy. Stolarz was serving as Ryan Miller's backup, so they'll likely need to recall another netminder if both Stolarz and John Gibson (lower-body) are not available.
Stolarz, who has gone 8-5-1 with a 2.98 GAA and .910 SV% in 14 AHL games this season, will serve as Ryan Miller's backup on Monday. John Gibson is unavailable due to an illness.
Stolarz allowed one goal on 17 shots after coming in in relief in the Oilers 5-1 loss to the Ducks on March 30th. Since joining the Oilers, Stolarz has gone 0-1-0 with a 4.00 GAA and .898 SV% in one start and four relief appearances. The Sharks have lost nine of their last 10 (1-8-1) but remain a very difficult test for Stolarz this evening.
With Mikko Koskinen sick, Stolarz will make his first start with the Oilers against the Maple Leafs. Stolarz was 4-3-3 with a 3.33 GAA and .902 SV% in 12 games with the Flyers earlier this season and 2-0-0 with 3.58 GAA and .901 SV% in five AHL games. He has shown the ability to stand on his head at times but is far too inconsistent to be relied upon tonight vs. a dangerous Toronto team.
Stolarz is set to become a restricted free agent this summer but provides the Oilers with over $3.4M AAV in cap savings this year by replacing Talbot. The 25-year-old netminder is a former second-round pick but has had two knee surgeries in the last two seasons and has only played in 21 professional hockey games over that stretch as a result. This season, Stolarz is 4-3-3 with a 3.33 GAA and .902 SV% and will basically be trying out for Mikko Koskinen’s backup job for next season during the final 25 games of the season.
Stolarz stopped 37 of 39 shots in the Flyers shootout loss to the Kings last Thursday. Since returning from injury, Stolarz has stopped 75 of the 77 shots (.974 SV%) that he has faced and tonight he will make his first of what could be two starts this week. The 25-year-old netminder has gone 3-2-1 with a 3.25 GAA, .907 SV% and one shutout in eight road appearances this year.
Stolarz stopped all 38 shots that he faced in the Flyers shutout win over the Rangers on January 29th. Stolarz has turned in a couple of outstanding performances this season but has mixed them in with some duds. It’s hard to know what to expect from the 25-year-old but the Flyers are red-hot right now and have a terrific matchup vs. the Kings, so you should at least consider spot-starting him.
Stolarz is expected to make his first NHL appearances since December 15th after Carter Hart started on Monday. The 25-year-old has gone 2-3-2 with a 3.90 GAA and .880 SV% in nine NHL appearances this season. During his time in the minors, Stolarz is 2-0-0 while allowing 16 goals on 161 shots (.901 SV%) in five games.