NEW YORK: Rasmus Sandin was the King of Texas last night.
The young defender from Uppsala didn’t just score as the Dallas Stars were overwhelmed by Toronto – he was a giant all around on the ice, not least during an infernal three-on-five situation.
“Others have to step up when we have key players away, and I think Timothy Lillegren and I have done a good job,” he says after the 4-0 win.
There were many in the endlessly multi-headed fanbase known as the Maple Leafs Nation who thought the season was over when one big afternoon – Morgan Reilly and Jake Muzzin among them – appeared on the injured list.
But not at all.
Toronto is currently one of the hottest teams in the league, not least because Swedish duo Rasmus Sanden and Timothy Lillegren have proven highly capable as substitutes for their better-known teammates on the blue line.
shining
They’ve been playing great hockey for several weeks and were great at 25.57 and 23.26 minutes of ice time in Dallas last night.
– It was so much fun, we got to try something else. We usually make up the third full-back pair and have a bit more limited ice time, but the others have to step up when we have away key players and I think we’ve done a pretty good job, says Rasmus.
– Of course it’s more difficult against the opposition’s best players, but it’s also a lot of fun and we try to improve all the time.
The high-profile 22-year-old himself scored his second goal of the season in the second half – just like compatriot Lillegren, he was responsible for a purely defensive effort when, at the end of the middle period, the Stars got five goals long. – Third mode Mitch Marner disc fell into chaos.
– It was stressful, but an incredibly big change for us in general, he notes.
I got compliments last night
Coach Sheldon Cave nodded admiringly.
– The two young Swedes played a very impressive match. They had to deal with a lot and were really good, he says.
Mitch Marner continued his goal-scoring streak for the 20th consecutive game – this time in the form of an assist. The aforementioned Liljegren is also mentioned.