Kallgren helps Maple Leafs shut out Stars in first NHL start

TORONTO --Erik Kallgren made 35 saves in his first NHL start to help the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Dallas Stars 4-0 at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

"It feels good," the 25-year-old said after his second NHL game. "A lot of emotions but I'm really happy for the win.
"I just try to have fun and enjoy this moment. It's obviously my first NHL start so I just try to have fun. It sounds clichéd but that's how I tried to embrace this game."
John Tavares had a goal and an assist, and Mitchell Marner and Morgan Rielly each had two assists for the Maple Leafs (38-17-5).
Toronto had given up at least four goals in each of its previous six games.
"It's a hard game to play when you are pulling the puck out of your net all the time," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.
"It becomes a real challenge because as players on the ice, you're questioning yourself and you make mistakes on the ice or you're a little more nervous."
Jake Oettinger made 36 saves for the Stars (32-23-3), who have lost three in a row.
"It's frustrating because we looked slow tonight because we kept turning the puck over," Dallas coach Rick Bowness said. "Our puck management was terrible all over the ice and they looked a lot faster because their puck management was right on, their passes were right on the tape in full stride. We were putting pucks in skates, bouncing pucks over sticks. … We weren't nearly physical enough, so if you correct those two areas, the rest of it will correct itself."

The Maple Leafs played without forward Auston Matthews, who leads the NHL with 45 goals. He served the first of a two-game suspension for cross-checking defenseman Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres during Toronto's 5-2 loss in the 2022 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic in Hamilton, Ontario, on Sunday.
Rasmus Sandin put the Maple Leafs ahead 1-0 at 7:22 of the first period when he took a pass from Marner and backhanded a shot past Oettinger's glove from the left side of the goal crease. It was Toronto's first shot on goal.
"I thought we played really patiently to start the game first of all," Keefe said. "It took us a while to get our first shot, we stayed with it and we told our group coming in this game was going to require a level of patience both in terms of how we defended but also offensively. Dallas doesn't give you much, you have to work for your chances. … Shift over shift, line over line, guys just played with a lot of intelligence and composure."
Tavares made it 2-0 at 11:16 with his 20th goal of the season when he deflected a William Nylander shot in the slot.
Ondrej Kase pushed the lead to 3-0 on the power play 52 seconds into the third period when he one-timed a pass from Rielly at the right hash marks.
Ilya Mikheyev scored into an empty net at 18:36 for the 4-0 final.

In his NHL debut Thursday, Kallgren made 10 saves on 11 shots playing 30:20 in relief of Petr Mrazek in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes.
"Erik looked really calm back there," Sandin said. "I'm super happy for him.
"I think we played a little bit harder. We really focused on our defensive game, took the defensive side of the puck first and then played off that. A lot of things in this game we got done that we need to keep doing every game, some things we still need to clean up, but overall we got the shutout and we needed that."
Stars captain Jamie Benn said they did not make it difficult enough on Kallgren.
"We wanted to put a lot of pucks on him, get a lot of shots, try and make his night difficult," Benn said. "I don't know if we did that. We did have a lot of shots, but we have got to find a way to put a few of those in."
Brothers Nicholas Robertson of the Maple Leafs and Jason Robertson of the Stars faced each other in the NHL for the first time. Nicholas, a forward, had two shots on goal in 11:09; Jason, also a forward, had three shots on goal and three hits in 17:38.
Jason Robertson made his NHL debut at Scotiabank Arena on Feb. 13, 2020, the last time Dallas played in Toronto.
NOTES: Kallgren became the 39th goalie with a shutout in his first NHL start. The most recent was Zach Fucale for the Washington Capitals on Nov. 11 in a 2-0 win at the Detroit Red Wings. Kallgren became the fourth goalie in Maple Leafs history to do it, joining Garret Sparks (3-0 against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 30, 2015), Al Rollins (8-0 against the Boston Bruins on March 25, 1950) and Benny Grant (3-0 against the Detroit Cougars on March 9, 1929). ... Tavares reached 20 goals for the 12th time in his 13 NHL seasons. Three active players have more 20-goal seasons: Alex Ovechkin (17), Sidney Crosby (14) and Patrick Kane (13). ... Marner's first assist, on Sandin's goal, was his 40th of the season, making him the first player in Maple Leafs history to begin his NHL career with six consecutive 40-assist seasons. ... Keefe got his 100th NHL regular-season win in his 163rd game. He is 100-46-17 in three seasons.