"'On Saturday, Berube was asked about it. 'How come he didn't play in the AHL?' And he goes, 'Not my call'. And I'm like, what's going on here? It just added to the overall craziness of the Lord of the Flies weekend. So, I made a few calls and I found out that when Stolarz began his return to play protocol and went to the conditioning stint, it was decided that his first game back would be in the NHL,' Friedman said."
"'And so they waited a few extra days with him. They had a few extra practices, and a few extra morning skates. And I do think it was brought up to him again, you know, 'Do you want an NHL start first?' And he's like 'No, I like the original plan'. And it was interesting because Kelly Hrudey and Kevin Bieska heard me say that, and they said that it's the right call.'"
Anthony Stolarz returned from injury and made his first NHL start since Nov. 11 as the Maple Leafs also saw Mitch Marner return. The Leafs lost 6-3 and Stolarz struggled with rebound control and limited mobility in the crease. Stolarz had been assigned to an AHL conditioning stint that emphasized extra practices and morning skates instead of AHL game action. Team decision-makers determined his first post-injury appearance would be at the NHL level and allowed extra practice days before the start; he agreed to the original plan. Some hockey analysts regarded the choice to return directly to the NHL as appropriate.
Read at Editor In Leaf
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