The Swede picked up his first ever NHL victory Monday night as the Ottawa Senators beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 at Canadian Tire Centre.
"It means everything," Gustavsson said. "I've been here for a couple of years and haven't always had the success I wanted. And when they put me in, I delivered what they wanted from me in the first place when they traded for me.
"It's a great feeling to give something back to them and for giving me the chance to play in the best hockey league."
In what was also his first NHL start, Gustavsson made 35 saves while Ryan Dzingel and Chris Tierney scored for the Sens (11-20-3). Calgary's (15-15-3) Jacob Markstrom turned away 21 shots while Johnny Gaudreau found the back of the net.
"He looked calm," Sens head coach D.J. Smith said of Gustavsson. "He made the saves he had to make ... he did everything you want your goalie to do."
Dzingel had the lone goal of the first period at 10:23 as on an odd-man rush he kept the puck to beat Markstrom blocker side for his fifth goal in nine games with the Senators.
After a scoreless second, in which the Sens were outshot 13-4, Calgary finally found its tying goal with only 5:06 left in regulation as Gaudreau broke in on a breakaway and beat Gustavsson glove-side for his 13th of the season.
But the Senators retook the lead 2:30 later as Tierney snapped a 30-game goalless streak to snag the game-winner as he scored from the slot on his fourth of the year.
"It was nice," Tierney said. "Obviously, I hadn't scored in a while so to score and get a big goal that ends up being the game-winner makes it even better."
Gustavsson became the first Sens goaltender to earn a win in his first NHL start since Andrew Hammond on Feb. 18, 2015.
The Senators moved to 6-0-1 on the season when leading after 20 minutes and pushed its home record to 7-6-3 this season.
The two teams will meet again Wednesday.
