TORONTO – One day Erik Källgren is being outfitted for a custom Toronto St. Pats mask.
The next day, what? A bronze statue on Legends Row?
Sure, we kid about the rapid ascension of “King Erik” — who arrived at his second NHL start with a fluorescent green crown emblazoned on his forehead.
But the Swedish call-up has fast stabilized the most fragile position on the team.
It’s one thing to shutout a bubble team like the Dallas Stars, as he did Tuesday.
It’s quite another to backstop the Toronto Maple Leafs to a tidy 3-2 victory over a relentless powerhouse like the Carolina Hurricanes, get outshot, and still outduel Vezina candidate and long-serving Leaf Frederik Andersen in the process.
The Hurricanes rushed out of the gates early, jumping to a 11-1 lead in shots. But Källgren withstood the surging storm and the skaters in front of him committed to the patient game.
And when the Leafs finally got their chances, they cashed in.
Speedster Ilya Mikheyev used his legs and his much-improved shooting percentage to pump the home side on the board in the first period.
Mitch Marner rushed down the right win in the second and with a decoy passing option up the middle, he paused before firing far side and beating old pal Andersen low blocker.
“Freddie’s known me a long time,” Marner said during his intermission interview. “He obviously always thinks I’m gonna pass first.”
Carolina’s Ethan Bear snapped Källgren’s consecutive save streak at 61, chopping the Leafs’ lead in half four minutes into the third period.
But Ondrej Kase struck right back, converting a pretty no-look feed from linemate William Nylander on a two-on-one and extending his goal streak to three games.
In the same barn where Andersen was encouraged with “Fred-die! Fred-die!” chants for five years, he was now hit with bursts of sarcastic “Frrrrredddddie” razzes from fans.
Källgren and the Leafs defenders withstood Carolina’s inevitable last push and locked up the night.
When the Maple Leafs play the way coach Sheldon Keefe urges them to, their style resembles that of the Hurricanes, tops in the Eastern Conference. Toronto’s talent, of course, is more frontloaded, but they exit their zone quickly and try to use waves of up-ice speed to break the opposition.
“In terms of puck pressure and structure and how Carolina plays, they’re the class of the league in a lot of regards,” Keefe had said pre-game.
“When we’re at our best, we do that well. We haven’t done it with the consistency we’d like in order to get into that class. We’re not far away from that and tonight’s an opportunity for us to get there.”
Opportunity seized.
Källgren and the Maple Leafs have ripped off two home wins this week, thriving — not just surviving — during Auston Matthews’ suspension.
The team flies to Nashville Friday for Saturday’s game versus the Predators.
Not only will that game mark Matthews’ return, it will be the team’s final action before Monday’s trade deadline.
One guess who will start in net.
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• Wayne Simmonds served back-to-back healthy scratches, just as Jason Spezza did last week. A well-rested Kyle Clifford has looked strong on the fourth line. Straight lines, finishes checks.
“This is home. It’s Toronto. I take a lot of pride putting that sweater on,” says Clifford, who spoke to reporters for the first time since signing his two-year extension. “To win in Toronto would obviously be an incredible opportunity.”
• You can tell Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour is still a tiny bit sour that he lost a dependable, smart assistant, Dean Chynoweth, to Keefe over the summer.
It’s not lost on Carolina that Toronto’s penatly kill has grown more aggressive and more effective as a result.
“Good on them to go get him and, you know, take the good stuff with him,” said Brind’Amour, wryly. “I’m happy for Dean. That was a good move for him.”
Keefe admits that he’s modelled some of his group’s style and structure after Carolina’s way of attacking the game.
“We look at Carolina a lot, because of Dean’s connection,” Keefe says. “Having Dean on our staff gives us great insight into how things run in Carolina, and they’ve obviously established a great culture there.”
• Keefe didn’t realize he’d secured his 100th win Tuesday until John Tavares handed him the game puck.
“Coaches don’t win games. Teams do,” says Keefe. He mentions the good fortune of being surrounded by talented players, trainers and executives. “If anything it’s provided me the opportunity to say thank to everybody for the work they’ve done.”
• Before he cracked the NHL, Keefe memorably spent an NFL training camp shadowing Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks.
One of the elements he stole from that experience? Cranking music during practices.
• Toronto’s green and white St. Pats kits looked brilliant against the Hurricanes red unis. St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas all at once.
“The gear is sharp. It’s bright. It’s different,” Keefe says. “It’s nice seeing the guys fly around in it.”
Both Källgren and Petr Mrazek (a massive gear head) got special tricked-out masks and pads for the occasion.
Matthews added a green flash to his custom skate boots. Only those at morning skate got to see them, though.
