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“I didn’t like my game at all to start that series,” Joseph told me recently. “I broke my hand in Carolina six weeks earlier and barely got myself back in time to start that series, it took me a while.”

Joseph actually credits Canadian music icon Tyler Stewart from the Barenaked Ladies for shooting tennis balls at him at the Lakeshore practice facility to help strengthen his hand when the rest of the team was on the road. That’s grassroots physio for you.

Despite being up two games in 2002, that series was on shaky ground. Joseph admittedly didn’t feel like himself and Mats Sundin was lost to a hand injury after Game 3. It turned into a long and close series with the Leafs prevailing in seven games.

Leafs fans may take a little comfort in the fact that teams who go up 2-0 in Stanley Cup playoff series go on to win 87.7 per cent of the time. In 2002, it was far from a gimmie. Today, the 2-0 lead against the Ottawa Senators feels different.

The Leafs appear healthier and the power play is as hot as ever. But the biggest storyline so far in this series is the play of Anthony Stolarz.

Unlike Cujo back then, who was doing everything he could just to return to the net after an injury, Stolarz finished the regular season at the top of his game. His play down the stretch was steady and unwavering and, dating back to March 20, he’s won 10 straight starts. Over that span, he has a 1.48 goals-against average, .947 save percentage and three shutouts. 

The way the 31-year-old has played through crunch time of the season and into his first two career playoff starts is reminiscent of another unlikely goalie to suddenly emerge as a playoff hero — Tim Thomas.

Much like Stolarz, everyone expected Thomas to fall at some point during his run with the Boston Bruins in 2011, but he never did. His Vezina-worthy play before carrying his momentum into the post-season, where he went 16-9 with a 1.98 goals-against average, .940 save percentage and four shutouts, earning him the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Thomas was actually six years older than Stolarz when the Bruins rode him all the way to their first Stanley Cup in 39 years. Despite their differences in age and goaltending style, what they have in common is the confidence they instil in the skaters in front of them — an essential ingredient for a Stanley Cup contender.

In the playoffs, there’s so many things out of your control as a player; how the refs call the game, the bounces, the crowd and most importantly, how your goalie will play.

Right now, the Leafs have one less thing to waste their energy worrying about. No goalie is invincible, but Stolarz is giving his team the sense that he’s got a chance to stop any shot he faces. It was the same feeling in 1994 with Mike Richter backstopping our New York Rangers.

Even on the night when Mark Messier guaranteed a victory in a must-win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final then followed it up with a hat trick, he was still the second-best player on the ice, and he’d be the first to admit it. We wouldn’t have made the final, let alone won the Cup, without our goalie and the confidence we had in him.

So how long can the Leafs ride this incredible run by Stolarz? The short answer is: As long as he can go.

This, after all, is his first season being relied upon as the top guy in goal and his injury history, Stolarz will get the same doubters Thomas did for the first few playoff rounds. Many are not holding their breath that this sort of play is sustainable.

While the Leafs don’t have a Zdeno Chara in front of him for 30 minutes a night like Thomas did, they do have a collection of defencemen who know how to protect him and give him enough space to see most of what the Senators are getting through.

Still, the Leafs would be wise to alleviate some of the pressure off of their goaltender by spending a lot more time 200 feet away as the series continues in Ottawa for Games 3 and 4. Even if, as Thomas proved with his memorable playoff performance in 2011 where he faced a record-breaking 849 shots in 24 playoff games, it isn’t a requirement to go all the way.

Right now, the Leafs constantly being out shot is working for them, but the series is far from over. Stolarz still has more to prove and every game is going to get tougher.

But being 2-0 is a great place to start.

Kyper’s Korner

•Sounds like the New York Islanders made their decision mid-season to not bring Lou Lamoriello back but gave the veteran executive the respect to finish out the season. The Isles may have offered him an adviser role that some believe he turned down.

•However long the Dallas Stars-Colorado Avalanche series goes, it doesn’t sound like Stars defenceman Miro Heiskanen will be cleared to play despite being listed as day-to-day.

•As mentioned last week in my notes, Jason Botterill is now driving the day-to-day operations for the Seattle Kraken. His first job alongside new president Ron Francis is to find a new coach. Many believe Botterill won’t have the opportunity to interview Joel Quenneville at this point in time with ownership still having no interest in going there.

•The Minnesota Wild’s Kirill “the thrill” Kaprizov’s dominance early in the playoffs has once again stirred up talk on his intentions of staying in Minnesota long-term. Some top agents believe $120 million (U.S.) over eight seasons (a $15-million average annual salary) is easily attainable for him if he simply asks for it.

•The NHL and NHLPA continue to quietly negotiate a new collective agreement through the Stanley Cup playoffs and have gotten to the point where they have exchanged formal proposals. I’m told getting a deal done right around the Stanley Cup final remains a possibility.

Change my mind

On the NHL scattering start times for playoff games: I really liked it. It may be challenging for the locals in some markets to race home from work to catch a 6 p.m. game, but it worked great for me.