Third-string? No worries. Magnus Hellberg has got this. That was the message he sent the Ottawa Senators Monday night when, as a waiver-pickup injury replacement, he came up big, stopping 29-of-31 shots in a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars. Does Hellberg, 31, have a future as an NHL regular or will he be squeezed out in Ottawa once Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg are healed up? Frank Seravalli and Steven Ellis discussed it Tuesday on “Daily Faceoff Live.”

Frank Seravalli: Let’s talk about Mr. Hellberg in the crease of the Ottawa Senators. Because they picked up a big win on Monday evening. Just love the story from Hellberg in net, as they’re down a couple of goalies. You’ve got Anton Forsberg out, Cam Talbot is out, and Hellberg, a guy that was signed by the Seattle Kraken this year, claimed off waivers by the Ottawa Senators, picks up a win. 

It’s his third career NHL win, Steven. And the fascinating part about it is that Hellberg’s three wins in his career have all come from playing for three different teams. Started with the New York Rangers, then went to the Detroit Red Wings, and now of course with the Ottawa Senators. When you look back on his journey, drafted 11 years ago, playing in eight different leagues, is this the time when Hellberg magically steps up and becomes a regular in an NHL net?

Steven Ellis: That’s a crazy stat, especially when you look at the time between his first win and his second win, there were two Olympics in there, two that he played in for Sweden. This is a guy who did a lot of work elsewhere. I still think it’s a tough thing to say if a 31-year-old with three career wins, so not a huge sample size, (can stick in the NHL).

To me, I don’t know if there are too many goalies who command the net as he does. I’ve seen him play internationally, and I’ve seen him play a lot in the KHL. This guy is huge, but he takes up so much net because he knows how to use that size. Maybe he doesn’t move as quickly as you’d hope, but he makes up for it by the sheer volume of how much space he takes. There are pictures from last night’s game where there isn’t much room for people to shoot. I think he’s a great story. He’s continued to find ways to impress. It’s still tough to say if he’s a regular. Obviously, he was awarded this opportunity because of a goalie injury, but what happens when Forsberg and Talbot are both healthy? Does he go back on waivers, is he picked up somewhere? I don’t know. I think if he’s put on waivers, someone will claim him and will play him. I just don’t know how much. 

Seravalli: When you see that type of track record through all those different leagues, and the presence that you mentioned, the third goalie has never been more important on a team. It almost seems like the way waivers and rosters are structured at the moment, the NHL should allow more flexibility to have teams to have a third goalie that you can reliably keep in their organization as opposed to having to chuck him on waivers every time you get your goalies healthy.