ANAHEIM — It happens to every athlete who ascends to the top level of his sport. That first time on the elite level can be a whirlwind of emotions: Nervousness, hope, as much confidence as you can muster, maybe even a little fear of failure mixed in. (That last, you’d better keep tamped down as much as possible.)
Erik Portillo undoubtedly felt much of that Friday afternoon. The goaltender who had gone from Sweden to the University of Michigan to the AHL’s Ontario Reign, and was an emergency callup by the Kings on Nov. 15 after Darcy Kuemper was hurt, was told on Thanksgiving Day that he would be making his NHL debut on Friday against the Ducks. Making things even wilder? His parents arrived Thursday from Sweden to spend time with their son.
Yeah, they saw a show.
Not even an issue with a skate blade stopped Portillo, though it did force him to leave the game for 1:09 of the third period, with David Rittich replacing him as the equipment guys worked to fix the problem.
But what is becoming an annual Kings-Ducks Black Friday matinee turned out to be a bright afternoon for the 24-year-old Portillo, who faced 29 shots in L.A.’s 2-1 victory over its Orange County rivals.
He might not have felt calm at the start, but he looked it. Right away, 45 seconds in, the Ducks’ Ryan Strome fired a shot on goal from the neutral zone. Later, Portillo stopped a blazer by Olen Zellweger and a follow-up by Cutter Gauthier in quick succession, and that might have calmed him down if he needed calming.
“It was just a lot of different emotions, I think,” Portillo said. “But I just try to stay calm and prepare the same way and stick to my routine. That was the most important part of my day yesterday.”
Portillo, who had a 4-2-0 record, 2.68 goals-against average and .906 save percentage at the start of his second season in Ontario when he was called up, gave up a goal when Strome poked a loose puck past him after trying to redirect Drew Helleson’s initial shot from the blue line at 2:48 of the second period.
But that was it for the Ducks. Alex Turcotte tied the score later in the second period, Alex Laferriere scored what turned out to be the winning goal 1:18 into the third, and Portillo made nine saves in the third, as well as withstanding a scary chance in the final seconds, when Troy Terry’s point-blank shot got past him but was smothered by Vladislav Gavrikov before it could get over the goal line.
“You don’t have time to think,” Portillo said. “You just got to compete, (to) find a way to get the job done.”
Kings coach Jim Hiller said before the game that Portillo was destined to play one of the two back-to-back games this weekend. Playing a 12:30 game in Anaheim, rather than Saturday’s 4 p.m. game against Ottawa, probably gave Portillo a little less time to think about it, but that didn’t seem to be part of the equation. “We try not to overthink it,” Hiller said.
And yes, Hiller said afterward, he might have looked nervous at the start, “but boy, did he get himself together in a hurry. And, you know, there’s not much to say. He was fantastic. He was big. That’s the one thing I noticed. It was big. His legs are long and quick. He couldn’t have had a better debut.
“… You want the goalie to get some saves and feel good. Every goalie who goes in there any night, you want him to get a few under his belt, get feeling good. So he did get those. They missed a couple early, 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 it.”
Maybe it helped that some of the guys he had played with in Ontario last season were with him Friday: Forwards Turcotte, Samuel Helenius and Andre Lee and defensemen Jacob Moverare and Brandt Clarke.
“It’s so much easier when you know the guys off the ice,” Turcotte said. “And he’s been out there for two weeks now, so he’s getting more and more comfortable. And, you know, that just comes with experience. But I think the biggest help for him is playing today and having a great outing.”
Rittich was a teammate in Ontario, too. Friday he was the stand-in, making two saves in that 1:09 of the third period while Portillo was getting his skate fixed.
There is, of course, a big difference between the skaters Portillo faced in the AHL and those in the NHL. The trick is how soon you make the adjustment.
“It’s a little higher tempo and everything, so it feels good to get those saves for your confidence,” Portillo said. “That’s something you can build on. … When they get a scoring chance, they’re really good at finding a way. So you just got to be a little more detailed, be a little quicker and be a little ahead of the game.”
Every player, as noted above, has experienced that first game and the emotions that go with it. At some point down the line, Portillo will have some stories to tell from this moment.
“I think what’s uniform (with that first game) is everybody’s nervous,” Hiller said. “And there’s a nervous excitement, too. And a lot of players, you work a long time to actually then put the jersey on for real and get on there.
“What I would say is the goaltender is just a different animal completely. The forwards, you can blend in and you don’t have, generally, as direct [an] impact on the game. Goalies, there’s nowhere to hide. So I do have a lot of respect for the guys who get in there the first time and and have to face the onslaught. And I liked how it turned out.”
Did Hiller remember his own first moment, which occurred on Oct. 6, 1992 for the Kings at Calgary?
“Yep, I do,” he said.
Was it the type of experience where his first hit or his first time with the puck helped him settle down or realize that he belonged?
“I don’t know that it happened that quickly,” he said. “I just know that I was nervous, excited. Couldn’t believe I was playing, you know, all those types of emotions. I don’t even know how the game went beyond that. But I just remember it’s a proud moment, too.”
In this case, for Erik Portillo, it absolutely was a proud moment. Now his job is to build on it.
jalexander@scng.com
