Michal Postava made his first career National Hockey League start on Monday night, and it's one the 24-year-old won't soon forget.
The undrafted goaltender made 25 saves on 28 shots and was perfect in the shootout as the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 at Rogers Place.
In the process, the Czechia native became just the third Detroit netminder in the past 25 years to win his first NHL start, joining Petr Mrazek (Feb. 7, 2013) and Jimmy Howard (Nov. 28, 2005), per NHL.com's Gerry Moddejonge.
“It’s amazing, I feel like a kid. I watched all those NHL games when I was young and I didn’t expect to one day be in the net and win the game. Now I’m just so happy,” Postava told reporters afterwards, per Moddejonge.
“I just wanted to enjoy the game and try to help the guys and make some saves. That was the only mentality that I had.”
Postava appeared in relief of an injured John Gibson against the Vancouver Canucks last Thursday, making seven saves on eight shots to seal a 5-2 victory.
But Monday was his first start, and he was thrown right into the fire against the highest-scoring team in the NHL; the Oilers are averaging 4.25 goals per game in the early going.
Postava was up to the task, making a highlight-reel save late in overtime and stopping Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the shootout.
“I’m really proud of the group, we responded well after what happened in Calgary (a 4-1 loss on Saturday),” Detroit coach Todd McLellan told reporters. “We checked well, kept some pretty good offensive players in check for the most part. The penalty kill did a really good job, and Postava.
Article Continues Below“We’re so excited for him and happy for him and sometimes that’s how it happens. A goalie gets the start such as this one and plays really well and gets the win.”
It was an important victory for the Wings, who have rebounded from a slow start by winning four of their last six contests.
Now 5-4-3 and with a four-game road trip concluded, they'll look to keep the positive momentum rolling on home ice when Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks visit Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.