Maple Leafs Presenting Anthony Stolarz With Great Opportunity Ahead of 4 Nations Face-Off

It has been a long eight-weeks since Stolarz had knee surgery in mid-December, but the 31-year-old will make his long awaited return to the Leafs' lineup on Thursday night against the Seattle Kraken.

Stolarz was originally forced out of a game against the Anaheim Ducks on December 12th with a lower-body injury.

The former second-round pick was in the middle of a season that could have seen him nominated for a Vezina Trophy. In 17 games prior to his injury, Stolarz was 9-5-1 with a 2.15 GAA and .927 save percentage, which was and still isthe best among all NHL goaltenders with a minimum 15 games played.

Joseph Woll has done a very good job of stabilizing the crease in Stolarz's absence, already surpassing his previous career high of 25 starts with his 29th start of the season on Tuesday.

Woll has produced a 12-7-0 record since taking the reigns between the pipes for the Leafs, but has seen his numbers dip with the expanded workload. There is no mistaking the fact Woll has made some game-saving stops and kept the Leafs in games, but the workload was clearly beginning to take a toll on the 26-year-old.

The Leafs certainly could have opted to keep Stolarz out until after the 4 Nations Face-Off to err on the side of caution. However, the Leafs are giving Stolarz the opportunity to start at least one game prior to the break, which will allow he and the team's goaltending department to evaluate where he's at and determine what the best course of action throughout the 2 week break might be. Make no mistake about it -- this is a valuable start for the veteran goalie.