Leafs netminder Dennis Hildeby owns costly mistake in OT loss

In what was otherwise a very good appearance in between the pipes, goaltender Dennis Hildeby lent a helping hand to the Detroit Red Wings, after an aggressive play went wrong in front of his own crease during their overtime session.

Just under 2 minutes into overtime, Hildeby made the initial stop on a Patrick Kane shot attempt, and while he left out a juicy rebound, he tried to take matters into his own hand by chasing it out of his crease and springing Auston Matthews the other way.

Unfortunately it was for nought as he flubbed the poke check attempt, which was then corralled by defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who made no mistake with a crafty move in front to finish the game off in style.

After the game, Hildeby addressed the media on his mistake and took full accountability, as he acknowledged that he was trying to be a bit too aggressive by sending Matthews the other way for a chance of his own.

It was still a heads up play from the rookie goaltender, who didn't want to freeze the puck and cost his team a defensive zone face-off. He saw the opportunity to set up Matthews, but this time around it didn't work in his favour. He'll certainly learn from the mistake and make a better read next time out.

Nevertheless, the Swedish netminder did his part in regulation to at least help the Maple Leafs collect one point last night. He made 31 saves through the first 60 minutes of play and an additional 2 in overtime before Edvinsson iced the game with his 5th of the season.

It was a great bounce-back effort after having allowed 14 goals on 82 shots over his previous 3 games. He showed great mental fortitude to keep the Detroit at bay, especially when facing 25 shots on goal in the final 2 periods of regulation, and should earn more trust from the coaching staff moving forward.

The Leafs don't play another back-to-back set until the 12th and 13th of January, but look for Craig Berube to get him out there before then.