Young goalies could help decide Sharks-Jets outcome (Jan 23, 2018)
The San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets have players who can light up the scoreboard seemingly at will, but their goaltenders may be more valuable.
Two of the league's better young netminders are expected man the pipes when Aaron Dell and the Sharks meet Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets on Tuesday night.
With Martin Jones sidelined by a lower-body injury and largely untested Troy Grosenick on the roster, Dell should get more chances to improve on what has already been a stellar second season.
The 27-year-old has surrendered five goals while winning his last three starts, and he is 10-0-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average, a .933 save percentage and one shutout in 12 games (10 starts) since Nov. 28.
"We all know how important goaltending is and it's been the backbone of our group this year," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told the San Jose Mercury News. "The fact that we have Deller here for this type of situation is a great luxury."
After the Jets stopped 31 shots in a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, Dell turned in a 33-save performance in a 6-2 rout of the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
"We were under siege there for a while, and he made a couple big saves for us," DeBoer told the league's official website.
For Winnipeg (28-13-7), Hellebuyck has clearly emerged as their top goaltender and one of the league's up-and-comers. The 24-year-old Michigan native is 25-6-6 with a 2.29 GAA, a .926 save percentage and four shutouts.
Hellebuyck, who needs one win to match his total in 59 games last season, turned aside 29 shots in a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
"It was a team shutout tonight," the third-year pro and first-time All-Star said. "The guys played really good in front of me and they kept things to the outside and made the game pretty easy."
On Monday, Hellebuyck was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week after going 2-0-0 with a 0.48 GAA and .983 save percentage.
What the Jets want to see from Hellebuyck is better results on the road, where he is 8-5-5 in 19 games (18 starts).
On Nov. 25, he replaced Steve Mason after one period and stopped 19 of 20 shots in a 4-0 loss to the Sharks. Hellebuyck also made 31 saves in a 4-1 home win over San Jose on Jan. 7.
Among goalies with at least 20 appearances this season, Dell is tied with injured Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks for first in the league in save percentage (.929). Hellebuyck is fourth at .926.
But regardless of who starts for either team, he can expect to be tested.
Since Jan 1, San Jose (26-14-6) is tied with the Boston Bruins for the NHL lead with 35 goals. Joe Thornton leads the way with six. Mikkel Boedker -- who scored twice against the Ducks, including his 100th NHL goal -- Timo Meier and Marc-Edouard Vlasic have four goals each.
Also, Brent Burns has five assists in a four-game points streak and 12 for the month.
"When you're going good, every night, you don't know who's going to be big line or the big player," Thornton told the Mercury News. "We rely on everybody to contribute every night."
Patrik Laine, who scored Sunday against Vancouver, leads the Jets with 21 goals -- two more than winger Nikolaj Ehlers. Forward Kyle Connor, selected 17th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, is third among rookies with 15 goals, including eight on the road.
Winnipeg, 8-2-1 since coming out the Christmas break to move atop the Central Division, has won 13 of 16 games against Pacific Division opponents.
