When standing on two skates, David Leggio measures about six feet, two inches tall.
But for the last two months, the Amerks goaltender has been standing on his head.
In the course of a season, Leggio went from unknown, to indispensable; from Drew MacIntyre's backup to 23 consecutive starts in net.
"It's been good. I feel comfortable in there," said Leggio. "I don't feel tired or anything.You play a lot, you get in a groove and feel comfortable playing. It's been nice to get a lot of playing time. I just try to have fun with what I'm doing and let the focus take care of itself."
It's because of that focus the Amerks went 4-0-2 in their last six games, making the playoffs and making Leggio the team MVP.
"He's been clutch," said teammate Marcus Foligno. "I think he pretty much stole the Lake Erie game. He's been amazing with some of those flexible saves. He's really vocal but really serious when he has to be."
"He gets in there every night, and his competitive nature, his battle to get the second chances, to make second saves, to do whatever he has to do to help us be successful, has given us the confidence to put him in there for this stretch of games," said Amerks head coach Ron Rolston.
The plan is to keep riding Leggio through the playoffs, and why not? He got them this far, and doesn't think anything will change.
"I try to take every game, especially this year because every game was so important...take every game like it's a playoff game. That way when you get to the playoffs it's not really an adjustment, you just try to do the same thing."
