Kallgren gets shutout in first start as Maple Leafs down Stars

TORONTO, Ont. — Erik Kallgren made 35 saves in his first NHL start as the Toronto Maple Leafs blanked the Dallas Stars 4-0 on Tuesday night.

John Tavares, with a goal and an assist, Rasmus Sandin and Ondrej Kase scored for Toronto (38-17-5). Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly added two assists each, while Ilya Mikheyev added an empty netter.

Jake Oettinger stopped 36 shots for Dallas (32-23-3).

With No. 1 option Jack Campbell out with a rib injury – he was also struggling badly before getting hurt – and a wobbly Petr Mrazek the Leafs’ only other option, Kallgren got the nod for a team that entered with an NHL-worst 88.1 save percentage at 5 on 5 since Jan. 1.

The 25-year-old rookie Swede, who made seven saves in relief of Mrazek in Thursday’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes in his NHL debut, is the first Leafs goalie to record a shutout in his first NHL start since Garret Sparks on Nov. 30, 2015.

Toronto was minus NHL goal leader Auston Matthews after he was suspended two games for a cross-check to the neck of Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin in Sunday’s 5-2 loss to Buffalo at the outdoor Heritage Classic in Hamilton – a contest where Mrazek was badly at fault on the winning goal.

Tuesday also marked the first NHL game featuring both Leafs rookie forward Nick Robertson and older brother Jason, who leads the Stars with 30 goals and sits second with 55 points.

Sporting a 15-8-1 record with a .904 save percentage for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in 2021-22, Kallgren got a nice round of applause from the crowd at Scotiabank Arena following a few early stops before the Leafs took a 1-0 lead.

Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe, who was forced to alter his top-6 forward group, saw his new No. 1 line connect at 7:22 of the first