Dell’s stellar play in goal could have Boughner rethinking plan
EDMONTON, ALBERTA >> Bob Boughner came out of the NHL All-Star break with the plan of playing his goalies on more of a rotating basis. Despite how well Aaron Dell had been playing before the break, Boughner didn’t want Martin Jones to continue to sit for long stretches at a time.
So Dell started Jan. 27, when the Sharks beat the
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Anaheim Ducks 4-2. Jones started two nights later in a 5-2 Sharks loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
That plan to give Jones more regular action might be on hold, at least for the immediate future, as Dell continues to give the Sharks a chance to win in almost every start he makes.
“That was the idea coming out of the break and we split games early,” Boughner said. “Deller’s just been the best I think he’s played all year in the last week. It’s tough to have him go out there and give it his all and play his best and then ask him to sit for a game.”
Thursday, in his 100th NHL game, Dell stopped 28 of 31 shots — including 18 of 19 in the final two periods — to help the Sharks post a 6-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers. He figures to make his third straight start Monday
when the Sharks host the Calgary Flames.
After that, they play three games in four nights twice before the end of the month.
Jones figures to start in at least two of those six games, with the Sharks playing on back-to-back nights on Feb. 14-15 and Feb. 22-23. But Dell, assuming he continues to play well, figures to get the lion’s share of starts.
“Monday, we play at home and then we have a few days off. But we’re going into a back-to-back next weekend,” Boughner said. “So, our schedule gets really busy after next week. That’s when I think you’ll see more of a rotation. But Deller right now, he’s played tremendous.”
Since the start of January, Dell is 7-4-0 in 11 starts with a .928 save percentage, fourth-best among all NHL goalies with at least 10 games.
“The more I play, the more comfortable I feel,” Dell said. “I feel like the team’s starting to pick it up a little bit, too.”
Dell was tested right off the hop Thursday. Connor McDavid used his blinding speed to create two breakaways. Dell stopped McDavid’s first shot with his left pad. But on the next try, McDavid flipped the puck over Dell’s right shoulder to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead 5:20 into the game.
“That’s probably the best player in the world,” Dell said of McDavid. “You give him a couple breakaways, he’s probably going to score one.”
McDavid had four shots in the first period, but had
just one more shot in the final 40 minutes. Timo Meier and Evander Kane scored before the end of the first period, both off redirections of shots by Brent Burns, to tie the game 2-2.
“They came out hard, and I think we handled it pretty well,” Dell said. “We were a little bit sloppy, but we could have fallen apart and it could have gotten ugly. But we picked each other up and we bounced back, answered and went into the second a tie game.”
Other takeaways from Thursday:
1. TRUE, LETUNOV MAKE THEIR MARKS >> The Sharks have brought up a handful of players from the Barracuda this season, giving
some of the more promising prospects in the organization an opportunity to play. Most of them, within a few days or weeks, have been sent back down.
Considering the injuries to Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and Joel Kellman right now, Alexander True and Maxim Letunov might be with the big club for a while.
“We know we have a couple huge holes to fill,” Boughner said. “We’re not asking those guys to replace Logan Couture or Tommy Hertl, but we’re definitely asking them to give us their best game.”
Letunov scored his first NHL goal at the 7:07 mark of the second period and
True picked up his first assist on Stefan Noesen’s goal at the 12:31 mark of the second period.
“With our injuries, there’s going to be young guys getting opportunities and as long as they play well, and we’re winning, there’s no reason to change the lineup,” Boughner said. “Both guys got their first point in the NHL tonight and the bench was ecstatic for them. It was a good feeling to see that.”
“They’re bringing a lot of energy,” Erik Karlsson said. “They’re playing the same way no matter what the score is, and that brings up the veteran guys. Maybe we think a little too much when things happen out there. The kids, they just
go out and play. It’s kind of rubbed off on us.”
Letunov held the puck that was saved after his second period goal. No doubt, his parents were watching the game from Moscow.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “You work so hard your whole career to reach this point and once it happens, it’s hard to describe. ... Just played simple. Didn’t think too much, just tried to play honest on offense and puck the puck deep and go to work.”
2. NET FRONT GOALS >> Most of the Sharks’ goals and quality scoring chances came from around the blue paint, as they made life difficult on Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen.
“Everybody went to the net, stopped at the net and you’ve got to grind it out there,” said Meier, who scored his 17th and 18th goals of the season. “That’s where it’s painful, but that’s where you get rewarded.”
Kane’s goal came on the power play, as he created some space for himself in front of Koskinen before Burns’ shot glanced off him and into the net for his 21st of the season. The goal snapped an 0-for-11 drought with the man advantage.
Boughner said in the last week, he and his staff have repeatedly shown video of other power play goals from around the league. Most of them have come from around the blue paint.
“They’re all shots and crashing the net, and it’s good for them to see and it’s the identity we want to have,” Boughner said. “Until we start to get some success on the power play and other options open up, we have to be simple, get guys in the goalie’s eyes and we have to put pucks to the net.”