Anthony Stolarz May Have Just Saved the Toronto Maple Leafs Season With This Injury Update

In Game 1 against the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was taken out by the elbow of Sam Bennett.

Since that time, Stolarz has missed three games in a row and there has been a fear that he would not be able to return until the Eastern Conference Finals.

One of his final hurdles to recovery was getting back out on the ice and facing shots from his teammates. Today, that is exactly what he did.

According to Chris Johnston, Stolarz was on the ice ahead of Tuesday's practice. On Wednesday, Game 5 goes down in Toronto with the series tied at 2-2.

Whether or not Stolarz actually plays, still remains to be seen. After all, he is an injured goaltender, and you don't want to rush a netminder back too soon.

At the same time, Leafs fans would absolutely love to have him back ahead of schedule, especially ahead of what should be a pivotal game.

Despite the desire to get Anthony Stolarz back in the lineup, it should be acknowledged that Joseph Woll played extremely well in Game 4.

He only allowed two goals and had it not been for him, the Leafs could have easily lost the game by a score of 6 or even 7-0.

Either way, the Leafs need to lock in here and make sure that they get the job done in Game 5 so that they can have the Panthers on their heels in Game 6.

If not, then an elimination game in enemy territory is going to be almost impossible to win.