Given that the Toronto Maple Leafs’ young goalie prospect Erik Kallgren looked so good in the net against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night, the question is whether he should be given a chance to start a game soon.
Maple Leafs’ rookie goalie Kallgren had a strong NHL debut. He didn’t win the game, but he won the imaginations of many Maple Leafs’ fans. In the middle of the second period of Thursday’s game, Kallgren replaced Maple Leafs’ starting goalie Petr Mrazek after the Czech goalie had given up four goals in 12 shots.
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What Stood Out in Kallgren’s Game
A couple of things stood out as positives in Kallgren’s relief appearance against the Coyotes. First, he allowed his team to play themselves back into the game. Second, after being down by a score of 4-1, the team picked up a point. Third, he looked steady, and steady is a part of the Maple Leafs goalie play that’s been missing for quite a while.
Kallgren made 10 saves after Mrazek was pulled after playing only half of the 60 minute game (31 minutes to be almost exact). Kallgren’s debut impressed the person who’s probably holding the keys to his immediate future in the organization – Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Keefe called Kallgren “calm, cool, collected.” Those three words help comfort a coach about his team’s goalie.
Keefe said that Kallgren made big saves and “looked confident for a guy going in for the first time under those circumstances with no heads up. I thought he looked excellent. Obviously, nothing he could do at all on the winning goal.”
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Kallgren Got the Attention of Maple Leafs’ Players
The goalie change also certainly got the attention of Maple Leafs’ players, who buckled down and worked harder to protect Kallgren than they had to protect Mrazek. As a result, most of the shots Kallgren faced were easier to save. The Maple Leafs also jumped up their offense and played more in the Coyotes end of the ice. In short, the Maple Leafs played better for Kallgren than they had for either Mrazek or (recently) starter Jack Campbell.
Thursday, there were fewer – if any – odd-man rushes on Kallgren after he came into the game. It suggests that the Maple Leafs can buckle down and play good team defense when they want to and put their wills into it.
In short, Kallgren was impressive in the net. While Mrazek has a lot of moving pieces, Kallgren was both steady and in good position in the net. He was calm, and that calmness helps his team stay more confident as well. It allowed the player to believe that the goalie can make the save!
Now What with Kallgren?
The simply fact is that Kallgren’s play was qualitatively different than Mrazek’s had been for the first half of the game. Kallgren played a “routine” game, but little about Mrazek’s game was what anyone could call routine. Kallgren made a couple of big saves, but any save Mrazek made in Thursday’s game was a “big save.”
Does that suggest that Kallgren might get more time soon? Mrazek is struggling. Coach Keefe has given him the start in the net this afternoon in Hamilton for the Heritage Classic Game; but, if he falters again, Keefe might not wait for half a game to put Kallgren in again.
You have to know that a large number of Maple Leafs’ fans want to see what the organization has in Kallgren. I want to see Mrazek play well, but I also know that I’m one of the fans who wants to see Kallgren get a start.
Related: Four Takeaways from Maple Leafs 5-4 Overtime Loss to Coyotes
Afp1961
March 13, 2022 at 9:56 am
Sure why not. Can’t get any worse….. can it …?
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