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Rookie Dell earns first win for
Sharks
San Jose tops Islanders in
Brooklyn
The Sharks have historically had a knack for
letting rookie goaltenders beat them. They let an opponent get a taste of that
medicine on Tuesday night as 27 year-old rookie Aaron Dell got the start in net
for the Sharks and turned in a 21-save performance against the host New York
Islanders to earn his first career NHL victory. Dell didn't have to play
superhero, as his teammates provided lots of air cover to keep the Islanders
suppressed for the most part.
The order of the day for the rookie
netminder was to play solid fundamental hockey, and that he did. The Sharks
locked down the Islanders in the 1st and 3rd periods, keeping the puck away
from Dell. The kid couldn't make many mistakes because his teammates eliminated
any chance of a mistake.
New York looked to jump on the Sharks, who
had played 24 hours earlier in Manhattan, by trying to out-skate what should
have been a fatigued San Jose lineup. The fact that Barclay's Center is a short
bus ride from Madison Square Garden allowed the Sharks to essentially play
those back-to back games as if they were in the same venue. Barclay's Brooklyn
proximity made the whole notion of back to back games as favorable as it could
be.
The Islanders also had to face a goaltender that was fresh and
that they had little scouting intelligence on. There is no book on Dell. Not
that the book would have mattered in the 1st period where the Islanders could
muster a mere 4 shots on goal.
San Jose also put the pressure on the
Islanders by scoring a 1st period goal off of a 10-shot performance in the
opening frame. Melker Karlsson staked the Sharks to the early 1-0 lead on a
shot from the doorstep after Tommy Wingels served up a feed from behind the
Islanders net. Wingles slid the pass past the left post and Karlsson lifted a
shot that banked off Jaroslav Halak for his 1st goal of the season.
The tempo changed at the start of the 2nd period when New York picked up the
pace with the puck, generating 13 shots on Dell. One trend the Sharks continued
was allowing rookie players to score their first career NHL goals against them.
That happened for the third game in a row when Anthony Beauvillier lifted a
shot past Dell 9:39 into the period.
Dell assisted Beauvillier by
trying to glove a floating shot that he ended up knocking into his own net.
Beuvillier skated on net from the right side before swiping at the puck,
bouncing it off of Justin Braun's stick. The puck flipped end over end over
Dell's left shoulder, but when the netminder tried to get his glove behind him
to snatch the shot, he ended up deflecting it into his own net.
Anders
Lee made it 2-1 Islanders 2 minutes later after he took a centering pass from
Jason Chimera then out muscled defenseman Paul Martin before snapping a shot
from the slot. Martin was draped all over Lee, but he may have not recognized
that the Islanders forward received the puck.
San Jose looked overmatched for most of the period
including the final 5 minutes, but they managed to even up the game in the
score column when Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl worked a little magic. The big
Sharks centerman pounced on a loose puck in the left corner before spinning to
his left to square up to the goal and find Hertl on the right post. Only
Thornton knows if he threw a pass that lifted higher than he wanted, or if he
intended to try and bounce the puck off Hertl or Johnny Boychuck who was draped
all over the Sharks forward. That puck found Hertl's shin guard then made a 90
degree turn toward the Islanders net, tying the game with just under 2 minutes
remaining in the period.
Both teams went into defensive lockdown mode
in the 3rd period, hoping for a crack in their opponents defense. The Sharks
found that crack with 2:11 left in regulation when Thornton fired a puck to the
slot from the right wing boards. That puck was met by Joe Pavelski's stick
blade, which shifted the trajectory of the shot by 45 degrees and past Halak.
Pavelski made it interesting by flipping a puck over the glass with 66
seconds left in regulation. The Islanders pulled Halak for the extra skater,
setting up the 6-on-4 power play, but by virtue of the penalty, the Sharks were
allowed to ice the puck without drawing a stoppage. That allowed them to kill
the clock and lock down Dell's first career NHL victory in his first start.
Game Notes:
* Only 10,772 fans were in attendance to
witness Dell's win. It was a Tuesday night affair, but the 4th game of the
season should still have some fan appeal, especially with the crop of young
talent that makes up the Islanders roster.
* The Sharks continue to
struggle in the faceoff circle. San Jose won only 40% of draws on the night.
Logan Couture (6 of 17), Joel Ward (4 of 11), and Tommy Wingels (3 of 9) all
had sub-40% performances.
* Joel Ward played in his 600th career NHL
game.
* Brent Burns moved into the league lead for points among all
skaters. Burns' 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) lead Boston Bruins forward Brad
Marchand by a point. Burns has played in one more game than Marchand, but he's
also a defenseman.
* Joe Thornton's 2 assists pulls him to within 47
assists of Joe Sakic and the 12th spot on the all time list.
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What did you
think of this story? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
| NYI |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ,
Karlsson 1 (Wingels, Haley), 5:36. |
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| 2nd period - 2, NYI,
Beauvillier 1 (Bailey, Tavares), 9:39. 3, NYI, Lee 1 (Chimera, Nelson), 11:49.
4 ,SJ, Hertl 1 (Thornton, Burns), 18:03. |
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| 3rd period - 5, SJ,
Pavelski 2 (Thornton, Burns), 17:49. |
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| 1st period - Bench, NYI
(too many men), 12:27. |
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| 2nd period - Ward, SJ
(interference), 12:33. |
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| 3rd period - Pavelski,
SJ (delay of game - puck over glass), 18:54. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Dell |
23 |
21 |
| NYI - Halak |
27 |
24 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
10 |
9 |
8 |
27 |
| NYI |
4 |
13 |
6 |
23 |
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| Referees: Joanette,
Kowal. Linesmen: Alphonso, Brisebois. |
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