At 6-foot-6, Stolarz is currently tied with two others for tallest goaltender in the NHL

Goaltender Anthony Stolarz had an excellent first start with the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Facing a San Jose Sharks team that he was quite familiar with, Stolarz turned aside 27 shots while backstopping the Panthers to a 3-1 victory in front of 16,142 fans at Amerant Bank Arena.

The win was Florida's third in four games and improved its record to 3-3-0 on the young season.

For Stolarz, while the victory was obviously his first as a Panther, it also bumped his career record against the Sharks up to an impressive 9-1-0.

Afterwards, he acknowledged the energetic crowd of Cats fans while also giving some love to his teammates.

"Definitely a little jitters going there and having the crowd, but it's a familiar team that I've played a couple times before, and I knew the guys would show up in front of me, and that's exactly what they did," Stolarz said.

The game may have only been Stolarz's first since signing a 1-year, $1.1 million deal with Florida back on July 1, but the 29-year-old Edison, New Jersey native has made a large impact on the Panthers during his time with the team.

Literally.

"He's a big guy back there and he makes timely saves," said Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe.

"A big man, but efficient," said Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice.

Are you noticing a trend?

Even when simply complimenting his game, it seems impossible for players not to mention Stolarz's towering stature, if not intentionally.

"Stolie came up big for us tonight," said Panthers forward Sam Reinhart.

Yes, Stolarz is a large individual, even by NHL goalie standards.

At 6-foot-6, he's currently tied for the tallest tendie in the league – with Calgary's Jacob Markstrom and Dallas' Jake Ottinger – so he's got that going for him, which is nice.

But it's not just Stolarz's height that sets him apart. 

One feature Stolarz has that the other two do not is that he's built like a tank, coming in at a ripe 243 lbs. (Ottinger is the heavier of the other 6-foot-6 goalies, weighing 224 lbs.).

Needless to say, when Stolarz is on the ice, wearing all of his goalie gear, he casts a fairly wide shadow.

"There's not a lot of net to shoot at," said Verhaeghe.

Unlike Stolarz himself, the sample size of his prowess with the Panthers is still on the small side.

Maurice did say that Stolarz should see more playing time in the coming weeks, as Florida enters a more demanding stretch of its schedule.

For his part, Stolarz said he's always ready and prepared to jump into action, but he also has a perfect understanding of his role.

"Obviously you want to play as many games as possible, but at the same time, you just have to stay sharp, be ready and bide your time," he said. "(Sergei Bobrovsky) has been playing well this year, and we just want to continue to work hard and continue this little run here."

Stolarz and the Panthers will look for their fourth win in five games when they host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night in Sunrise.

Florida then hits the road, starting with games in Boston and Detroit on Monday and Thursday before wrapping things up in Chicago on Saturday. 

Perhaps Stolarz gets the nod in one of those games. He'll be ready if that's the case.

"That's why you work hard in practice," he said. "To stay sharp so when your name is called, you're ready to go."

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