It wasn’t easy, but 24-year-old Erik Portillo earned his first victory in his first appearance in the NHL, as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 2-1 on Friday afternoon. He turned away 28 of 29 Anaheim shots he faced, including 8 High Danger Chances, per NaturalStatTrick. His Goals Against Average for the game was 0.95, but his Expected Goals Against was 3.26, meaning he saved a sparkling 2.31 Goals Above Expected.
Here’s what head coach Jim Hiller had to say about Portillo’s NHL debut:
I thought maybe he looked a little nervous early, but boy did he get himself together in a hurry. There’s not much to say, he was fantastic. He was big, that’s the one thing I noticed, he was big, his legs are long and quick and he couldn’t have had a better debut.
Confidence, right away, you want the goalie to get some saves and feel good, every goalie who goes in any night, you want him to get a few under his belt, get feeling good. He did get those. They missed a couple early, they missed the net on a couple early, but then he got pads on them, and you just felt like, you know what, this kid’s ready to play. He’s going to have a good night, and we needed him.
Rebound control has been a bit of an issue for Portillo in the AHL, and the numbers from his victory against the Ducks support that analysis. Portillo faced 5 Rebound Shots Against, but his Expected RSA total was 2.25. There are various factors that lead to a rebound shot against, but for Portillo, this is an area he can certainly improve on.
What stood out the most about Portillo’s game was his ability to compete within the framework of a “big goaltender”, while being able to remain strong in scramble situations around the net.
This isn’t overly common with big goalies. 6’4” Darcy Kuemper, for example, relies far more on his fundamentals than his athleticism. Several times this season, Kuemper has been unable to recover to make a save after biting on the initial fake.
Portillo’s youth is certainly an advantage in these types of situations. That being said, the young goaltender can learn plenty from a guy like Darcy Kuemper when it comes to rock solid positioning. Kuemper has perfected the fundamental aspects of playing big, whereas the young Swede could use more economy in his movements. This call-up to the NHL and subsequent one-on-one time with Kings goaltending coach Mike Buckley could go a long way in remedying some of that.
For now, the Kings clearly have something with Portillo. What that is remains to be seen, but all indications are that he has the tools and experience to be one of LA’s two NHL goaltenders as early as next season.
