Less than 24 hours after
Jonas Johansson made 28 saves for his first NHL shutout, a 2-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks, the Avalanche on Saturday added more goaltending depth behind
Philipp Grubauer with the addition of
Devan Dubnyk.
The Avalanche acquired Dubnyk from the San Jose Sharks for defenseman
Greg Pateryn and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL draft.
Here’s the
NHL.com RECAP from Friday’s 2-0 win.
The 6-foot-6, 224-pound Dubnyk, 34, has a 3-9-2 record, 3.18 goals-against average and.898 save percentage. A 12-year NHL veteran with the Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, Arizona Coyotes, Minnesota Wild and Sharks, he has a 250-204-54 career record with a 2.60 GAA, .914 save percentage and 33 shutouts.
He has an 8-18 record, 2.72 GAA and .904 save percentage in the Stanley Cup playoffs, all with the Wild.
The trade comes one day after the Avalanche acquired defenseman
Patrik Nemeth from the Detroit Red Wings for a fourth-round pick in 2022.
Coach
Jared Bednar said Dubnyk was expected to make the drive to Anaheim, where the Avalanche play Sunday, and that Nemeth would arrive in Denver on Monday or Tuesday.
Johansson was acquired March 20 from the Buffalo Sabres.
Bednar said he doesn’t expect goalie
Pavel Francouz (lower-body injury) or defenseman
Erik Johnson (upper body) to return for the rest of the regular season.
“We saw last year how important goalie depth is in the playoffs — actually over the last few years – and to be able to acquire the two guys we’ve acquired here recently, I think it just makes our team deeper and stronger, and to add the veteran leadership and guys who have sort of been there before going into this time of the year is real important,” Bednar said.
Johansson has gone 2-0-1 in four games with the Avalanche, posting a 2.13 GAA and .920 save percentage after struggling with the Sabres.
“I think we’re going to need both those guys,” Bednar said of Johansson and Dubnyk. “It’s a busy schedule going down the stretch. We know we want to give Grubi some rest, he’s getting some right now; this is a much needed break for him getting ready for the stretch run and heading into the playoffs we want to make sure he’s rested and healthy. He’s obviously our No. 1 and the goalie depth is real important.”
Bednar said he is considering starting Johansson on Sunday against the Ducks. The Avalanche play the Arizona Coyotes at home on Monday.
“Johansson played a great game last night and we’re contemplating going back with him tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll make a decision later today and announce it tomorrow. We’ll take it one day at a time and week to week and lay out a plan for our goaltending.”
Here’s captain
Gabriel Landeskog on the recent trades:
“I think it sends a pretty strong message that (GM
Joe Sakic) believes in this group and that we are trying to make a run at (the Stanley Cup). That’s been no secret since Day One of training camp. Looking at our roster and looking at the team that we have, we know this is a really good year for us and a real good opportunity for us to definitely go after this thing and we’re excited and got a lot of work ahead of us.
“It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re excited about where we’re at in the standings and have an opportunity to win our division and keep working ahead of the playoffs.”
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Bednar said
Bowen Byram, who entered COVID-19 protocol on Friday, will quarantine for 10 days and then undergo more testing. He said it would be about a two-week period before he’s allowed on the ice.