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Gustavsson is making Toronto believe in “The Monster”

Jonas Gustavsson

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson takes a break during stoppage in play during third-period NHL hockey game action against the Vancouver Canucks in Toronto on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Pawel Dwulit)

AP

Early this season, Jonas Gustavsson was looking like the guy that wasn’t going to provide any kind of relief in goal for the Maple Leafs. Now? He’s looking more like his nickname in goal playing like a “monster” in winning four in a row for Toronto.

Leafs coach Ron Wilson tells Jonas Siegel of TSN that what “The Monster” is doing in goal is helping make life easier on everyone on the ice except for their opponents.

“It’s huge,” Ron Wilson concurred. “You saw what happened last year when James [Reimer] came in and started to play really well, all of a sudden we were scoring more goals and everything seemed to get fixed in a hurry.”

Playing mediocre is just what Gustavsson was doing while James Reimer was out with an injury earlier this season forcing Toronto to use Ben Scrivens more often than not.

Now, Gustavsson has shut things down hard in goal with two shutouts in his last four games and getting the Leafs back on track for a possible spot in the playoffs. If Gustavsson can live up to the hype he had following him upon his arrival with the Leafs, Toronto’s goalie tandem is poised to be solid the rest of the way.

Now if they can just get their penalty kill figured out, they’ll be virtually all set.