Wake-Up Call: The NHL Can't Ignore What Happened to Leafs Goalie Anthony Stolarz

During last night's tightly contested battle with the New York Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs came away with real concerns when goaltender Anthony Stolarz was forced into making a save after his mask came off due to a play continuation rule.

A Matt Rempe shot from the slot hit Stolarz directly in the mask last night, causing a strap to come loose and the mask to fall off during play.

However, instead of blowing the play dead as the rules state, the referees let the play continue. J.T. Miller fired one more shot, but fortunately, it was directed towards his pad instead of his face.

Of course, the worry is the damage that could occur with a shot hitting anyone square in the face, head or neck, but evem more so for Stolarz who dealt with a concussion that ended his season prematurely last year.

During the broadcast, TSN colour commentator Mike Johnson made mention of the rule that referees are intended to follow, which seemingly escaped their minds there for a second too long.

Stolarz escaped without a scratch and he also did his job to help his team claim the victory in overtime. However, when asked about it post-game, the hulking netminder just credited it to intuition and second nature.

Stolarz also mentions that Miller approached him afterwards and said that had he known his mask was off, he wouldn't have taken the shot.

With the Leafs already shorthanded in between the pipes, losing Stolarz for any amount of time would prove costly, and his teammates would concur, as many were scared as they were watching it live, including Matthew Knies.

With no bumps or scratches coming out of the game, expect Stolarz to patrol the crease once again as the Leafs continue their home-stand with a weekend tilt against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.