It wasn't going to be hard to do better than Jhonas Enroth, but so far so very good for Toronto Maple Leafs backup goalie Curtis McElhinney.
Enroth and his ghastly .872 save percentage was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 11, one day after Toronto added McElhinney on waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets. And in four games, McElhinney's been excellent.
The 33-year-old started his third game for Toronto on Tuesday, and stopped a whopping 39-of-40 shots the Dallas Stars fired his way in a 3-1 Maple Leafs victory.
McElhinney's at .935 and has a 2-2 record and 2.11 goals against average in blue and white.
| Date | Opponent | Result | SV% | Saves (Shots) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 7 | Stars | W 3-1 | .975 | 39 (40) |
| Jan 31 | Stars | L 3-6* | .750 | 9 (12) |
| Jan 26 | Flyers | L 1-2 | .941 | 32 (34) |
| Jan 14 | Senators | W 4-2 | .946 | 35 (37) |
As you can see, when McElhinney's been in net, he's been put to work by his new team. And Toronto's going to need him, as the club has a busy schedule the rest of the way, including back-to-back games on Feb. 14 and 15 and Feb. 18 and 19.
With Frederik Andersen struggling since 2017 began, McElhinney may prove to be one of the best pickups of the season by any team should his solid play continue.
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