Dennis Hildeby Praised for Strong Performance Despite Maple Leafs' Loss to Hurricanes

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby delivered a commendable performance in a 5-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, despite facing a career-high 47 shots—the most in his NHL and North American professional career. Fresh off an AHL call-up, Hildeby faced a combined 67 shots over two days (Hurricanes and Bruins), finishing with a .894 save percentage against Carolina and a .910 through two NHL games. Coach Craig Berube absolved Hildeby of blame for the loss, noting the team gave up multiple breakaways. Teammate John Tavares lauded him as "phenomenal" and "the reason why we had a chance to win," specifically praising his penalty kill efforts. Hildeby acknowledged some personal mistakes on the third goal and the difficulty of facing numerous breakaways, but also noted fortunate bounces. He started to provide rest for Anthony Stolarz and enjoyed being part of the Hall of Fame game, meeting legends like Mats Sundin, though he regretted not securing a win.