New York. It was Carlson vs. Carlson in Anaheim last night and Carlson won – with a lot of help from Helberg.
He, Magnus Hellberg, was thrown in midway through the game and kept a clean sheet for Pittsburgh.
– You don’t have time to think too much, you just jump in and try to do what you want and I’m very happy that it went well, said the Uppsala goalkeeper after the 2-0 win.
One is a veteran player with three Norris Trophies under his track record, and the other is a complete rookie who is expected to be the next big star from the Kingdom.
So through the blue and yellow lenses, it’s hard not to see a match-within-a-match between Erik Karlsson and Leo Karlsson when Pittsburgh and Anaheim meet – and this time, the former emerged victorious in the encounter.
The Penguins put in a really solid effort at the Honda Center and snapped the Ducks’ six-game winning streak – with Erik helping to score one of the goals on a header from Radim Zohorna.
But the great Swedish hero on the ice was goalkeeper Magnus Hellberg.
At the end of the second half, Tristan Jarry was shot in the face and had to stop the match. Instead, Helberg had to take charge – and it worked out great. He stopped all eleven shots the Ducks fired at him and thus helped keep the score scoreless.
– It was great, says coach Mike Sullivan.
– Magnus is a great guy who works hard and always contributes such positive energy. So when he comes in and makes some crucial saves, everyone is impressed by him.
He’s also very happy, a 32-year-old native who over a long and varied career has managed to represent the Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings.
– You don’t have time to think too much, you just have to step in and try to do what you want, and I’m very happy that it went well, he says.
– But I also had good help, the guys did a great job in front of me. I saw all the pucks all the time.
