When goaltender Anton Forsberg went down with a seemingly season ending injury against Edmonton last week it would have been easy to think the sky was falling for the Senators. With Cam Talbot already held out with injury, goaltender coach Zac Bierk was going to have to turn the keys to an inexperienced duo in Mads Sogaard and Kevin Mandolese. With the season quickly inching toward the end and the weight of a playoff push on their shoulders they could have succumbed to the pressure. Instead they have thrived!
Søgaard made his season debut against the Calgary Flames Monday night in which he stopped 34 of the 37 shots he faced to help send the game to overtime where Tim Stützle put the bow on it. Beyond the stats however, Søgaard showed a cool head and poise in just his third NHL start. Poking the puck away from Calgary and pushing the puck in transition where he could, Søgaard showed what he's capable of and his desire to stay in the NHL.
Perhaps Søgaard's nerves were cool knowing Monday was not his first NHL action, as he went 1-1-0 last season picking up his first career win in against Detroit on April 10th. It was however his first win at Canadian Tire Centre, a moment that earned him the player of the game honours, a moment he surely won't forget. All that is to say Søgaard looked and played like an NHL goaltender when his number was called.
Mandolese of course has been the talk of the hockey world for the last half day after picking up a massive shootout win in his NHL debut last night. Mandolese stopped 46 shots, including every shot in overtime and the shootout, the second most in NHL history for a goaltender's debut victory. To say he stood on his head would be an understatement!
Fitting that in just one game Mandolese saw every situation possible given that he has been through it all this season being called up and down from the AHL to the ECHL this year. "Its hard to put into words after the year that I've had," said Mandolese when asked to describe his postgame feelings. "I'm so happy it happened like that, especially with the number of shots I just had to play and didn't have time to think about it. I'm pretty speechless right now."
The Senators are surely still looking forward to Cam Talbot's return to the ice, he was an NHL All-Star last season after all. Though while they await his return it must provide D.J. Smith, Zac Bierk and Pierre Dorion a sense of relief that their young giants are standing tall between the pipes!
