Stolarz picked up 26 saves on 27 shots in his return from injury and improved his season save percentage to 929.

SEATTLE — If rust was of any concern in Anthony Stolarz return to the net, the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender did not show it.

Stolarz made 26 saves on 27 shots in his first start in eight weeks to help the Maple Leafs defeat the Seattle Kraken 3-1 on Thursday. Out of the lineup since Dec. 12 after undergoing a procedure to remove a loose body in his knee, the goaltender did all the things the Leafs have grown accustomed to. He was timely when making saves, and he even showed some swagger with a glove save on former Florida Panthers teammate Brandon Montour.

"I think we had bodies in front that were kind of on the blocker, my blocker side. So I knew he was a righty and he was going to try to shoot gloves," Stolarz explained of the play. "So I just threw everything out there and lucky me to win in my glove."

Stolarz winked back at Montour after the save in what looked like a goaltender who was very comfortable back in the crease. The 31-year-old had been skating and practicing for over a week but ultimately a decision was made for him to return against the Kraken, Toronto's penultimate game before a break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

"I kind of knew that this was where I wanted to be and this is where I wanted to start," Stolarz said of his process for returning. "Curtis (Maple Leafs goaltending coach Curtis Sanford) and I had a good last two days and felt really good yesterday. And I had a really good morning skate today. So I thought it was a really good opportunity to get one in before the break."

Stolarz improved his record to 10-5-2 this season and his .929 save percentage leads all goaltenders who have played in at least 15 games this season. Along with Joseph Woll, Toronto's goaltending tandem has come up big with one goaltender picking up the other as one succumbed to injury.

"You know that sometimes you're going to give up some tough looks, and they've been there backstopping us all year, and sometimes we even take advantage of it," Bobby McMann said of Toronto's goalies. "But we definitely want to appreciate them every single game and every single play and every big stop that they make because it really drives us."

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