In his first career NHL start, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Erik Kallgren recorded a shutout in a 4-0 win.
Who would have thought that the 25-year-old third-string starter would have been the answer to the Toronto Maple Leafs problems?
With Petr Mrazek struggling and Jack Campbell injured, the Leafs turned to Kallgren for the start. Although this was his first career NHL start, he’s far from a rookie to professional hockey.
Prior to joining the Leafs, Kallgren was a solid goaltender in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). During his last year in the SHL, he finished the campaign with a respectable .911 SV% and 2.37 GAA.
The NHL is a different animal than the SHL, so it was an impressive first start by Kallgren, as his team rallied around him, and also behind Auston Matthews, who was out due to his suspension.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe was very impressed with Kallgren following his first win, as mentioned below:
"“He continued where he left off…He was solid. Pucks came to him and for the most part they stuck to him….I thought our team played really well in front of him. The patience level early was big. Shift over shift, line over line, the guys just played with a lot of intelligence and composure throughout the game. Just the way Erik played gave the group confidence.” (via: Terry Koshan, The Toronto Sun)."
The biggest takeaway from that quote is “gave the group confidence.”
Over the past two months, the Leafs have looked broken at times because of the terrible goals allowed by their goaltenders, but Kallgren’s play helped the Leafs play a near-perfect game.
Eric Kallgren Deserves a Run, But Toronto Maple Leafs Still Need Goalie
I’m not convinced that Kallgren is going to go on a magical run and help this team to a Stanley Cup, but I also think he deserves a few starts in a row prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. The Leafs should still look to acquire a starting goaltender at the Deadline, but they should ride the hot-hand as long as possible.
It’s quite possible that Kallgren’s night was just a flash-in-the-pan and this may never happen again. With Matthews out and Kallgren starting his first career game, it’s easy motivation for the Leafs to heighten their game.
Also, with Matthews out of the line-up, the team knew they needed to play more as a team and couldn’t rely on one guy for scoring, so overall that helps, but it’s not sustainable.
It was a fantastic story and we’re all happy for Kallgren, but Toronto still needs to trade for a starter or pray that Jack Campbell returns to his old-self when he’s back from injury.
Either way, one game hasn’t solved Toronto’s biggest issues quite yet, although it’s a fantastic story during a rough stretch of hockey.