Goaltenders showing net worth
Swede Dansk latest to offer Golden Knights between-the-pipe aura
Let’s get all of the puns out the way right now.
Dansk, Dansk revolution. Dansk the night away. Shut up and Dansk with me.
Oscar Dansk was the third goalie to start a game for the Golden Knights when he beat Chicago 4-2 on Tuesday to extend the expansion franchise’s historic start.
But it’s anyone’s guess whether the Dansk party will rage on when the Knights (7-1) host Colorado (5-4) at 3 p.m. Friday to close their seven-game homestand.
Dansk had 29 saves against the Blackhawks, and coach Gerard Gallant could opt to stay with the hot hand while Marc-andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban are on the injured-reserve list. Or Maxime Lagace could be handed his first NHL start.
The Knights had the day off Wednesday and were not available to the media.
“I thought Oscar Dansk played a good, solid game,” Gallant said Tuesday night.
Dansk, 23, relieved Subban in the third period Saturday against St. Louis and stopped 10 of 11 shots in a 3-2 overtime win to earn the start against Chicago.
KNIGHTS
Dansk is a former second-round pick of Columbus who spent the past two seasons playing in his native Sweden. The Blue Jackets did not offer him a contract after his entry-level deal expired this summer, and he signed with the Knights as a free agent hoping to resurrect his career.
“He played well,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said after Tuesday’s loss. “We didn’t get to test him the way we liked to with the traffic. Just enough plain shots or zone time to get some quality looks. He was fine, but we didn’t press enough.”
Dansk gave up a goal on the first shot he faced against St. Louis, and Chicago beat him on its second shot Tuesday.
But Dansk also had two key stops against the Blackhawks, denying Patrick Kane on a 2-on-1 in the second period and Patrick Sharp on a breakaway with 12:20 left in the third to preserve a 3-1 lead.
“It’s Dansk, a young goalie in there, and Sharp is a sniper and that’s when he takes advantage of stuff,” Gallant said. “You know, fortunately for us, (Jonathan) Marchessault scored a little while after that on the power play. But at that time, the young kid made a great save, and
that was big for us.”
Lagace started when the Knights beat Colorado 4-1 in a preseason game on Sept. 19, finishing with 10 saves. Dansk played the third period of that game and stopped all 18 shots he saw.
Lagace started four of five games for the Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate before being called up Sunday night. He had 23 saves in a 2-1 win over Tucson on Sunday and is 2-2 with a 3.24 goalsagainst average for the Chicago Wolves.
Fleury (concussion) is not expected to return until next week at the earliest when the Knights begin a six-game road trip. Subban is out four weeks with a lower-body injury.
Meanwhile, it will be up to two minor leaguers to extend the Knights’ four-game winning streak.
“He comes in and he plays Chicago, I mean it’s not an easy task to do and it was huge,” Marchessault said of Dansk. “He’s been amazing for us, and I’m so happy to see guys like that come up from the (American Hockey League). I know how hard it is down there. It’s hard, and when they come up, they get rewarded.
I’m real happy for him.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @ Davidschoenlvrj on Twitter.