NHL fans divided as Anthony Stolarz gets pulled minutes after head collision with Sam Bennett: "Dirty player and team", "Barely touched him"

NHL fans were divided after Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz was pulled from Monday's Game 1 against the Florida Panthers, just minutes after a collision with Panthers forward Sam Bennett.

The incident occurred 7 minutes and 20 seconds into the second period when Bennett clipped Stolarz's head with his right arm while skating past the crease.

The officials blew the play dead, but Anthony Stolarz remained in the game for over two more minutes before heading down the tunnel during a stoppage in play at 9:48. Joseph Woll replaced Stolarz with the Leafs leading 4-1.

Fans on X debated Bennett's hit on Stolarz. One fan tweeted:

"Dirty player and team."

However, another fan had a different take and countered, writing:

"Barely touched him."

Here are some fan reactions:

"Goalies like to exaggerate. He’s fine," one fan wrote.

"Bruh he barely touched him and the dude is wearing a helmet that takes 90mph pucks," another fan noted.

"I’m sure since @NHLPlayerSafety cares about head injuries so much, they’ll have a hearing with Sam Bennett. Isn’t that right," a user commented.

"League better review it and suspended Bennett cause that was a dirty cheap shot," another user wrote.

Anthony Stolarz was seen vomiting into a bucket before exiting the game. He stopped 8 out of 9 shots before being pulled out.

At the end of the second period, the Leafs led the Panthers 4-1 on goals from William Nylander (two), Morgan Rielly and Christopher Tanev. Seth Jones scored Florida's lone goal.