Sheldon Keefe explains his decision to play Kallgren in back-to-back games instead of starting Keith Petruzzelli on Saturday
No rest for the wicked, as they say, as the Leafs are back in action on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks, just 24 hours after they were handed a disappointing 4-2 loss by the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. No rest for the Leafs and no rest for Erik Kallgren, who gets his 2nd start in as many nights, per head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Many had assumed that Keith Petruzzelli getting the start for the Buds would be an automatic tonight, after Kallgren gave up 3 goals on 22 shots on Friday, including a very save-able game-winner early in the third period. So why, then, is Keefe going back to Kallgren? Here's what the Leafs' bench boss had to say about the decision on Saturday afternoon:
"Mainly that he's played well. He has earned it. Back to back is far from ideal and normally it's when you would make a goalie change, but the fact there is no travel is different. Kally has done a good job for us and deserves a chance to go back in."
-Keefe on why he chose to go right back to Erik Kallgren
-Keefe on why he chose to go right back to Erik Kallgren
Kallgren has largely played well enough to win several games this season. The lack of goal support he has gotten from his forwards has been staggering. The Leafs have scored just 18 goals across Kallgren's 7 games this season and it breaks down like this: 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2. As Sportsnet's Luke Fox points out, that's simply not good enough - especially with what this forward core is making in terms of their combined cap hit.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
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