Of course, Jones was also unsigned when he was traded to Boston, and it would have been much harder to sign the restricted free agent given that the Bruins did not have a starting job to offer. He received a tryout with the St. Louis Blues on October 27, but was released November 6.
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His 25-save performance powered San Jose to its second three-game winning streak of the season. Rask has given up five goals in his last three games. “I thought it was getting better and tonight again…”
Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News suggests that Zubrus is looking to contribute as a power forward who’s aggressive on the forecheck; he “doesn’t feel slow”, and there’s the sense that he believes this could be his comeback. Zubrus had to check with his family, including his youngest daughter, Emma, whose ninth birthday is later this week.
“I look good when the team looks good”, said Rask, who made 37 saves while giving up a career high in goals at San Jose in December.
When asked if he would have been willing to sign with the Bruins, Jones said, “It happened really quick”. “I know it’s a cliche that you have to play to win”. He said after Monday’s practice that he felt healthy and ready to play. The Sharks are also scheduled to practice Wednesday in Philadelphia and Friday in Pittsburgh.
“Everything ties together”, DeBoer said Monday.
“I was excited about the potential, and I think there’s a reason to be excited about the potential”. “This is a guy, who, I don’t care how long he’s sat around or hasn’t skated, he’s one the best conditioned people I know”.
It was Pavelski’s second three-point game of the season, his first since opening night. Although his scoring has significantly declined, as well, the almost 20 year NHL vet has consistently been a solid penalty killer who was once able to drive the play out of the defensive zone and create scoring chances; with five short-handed points in the 2011-2012 season and point production whilst a man down in almost every season he appeared in the league, Zubrus is the kind of player who counters defensive liabilities while potentially turning play around regardless of the player to player matchups.
Let s be real. As Julien said, “When you have eight D’s, there’s going to be guys that are going to be going in and out, you know, throughout the year”. “We didn’t play well enough, and you can’t come out in the third and decide to play a little bit better”. So I was kind of hoping for something to happen for me.
Stayed in shape, worked out and did what I could to be ready for an opportunity like this.
The Sharks are only carrying 21 players on the National Hockey League roster right now, so fitting in Zubrus would not be a problem on a strictly numerical basis.
The Bruins were one failed coach’s challenge away from being in a position to take points out of the game, but Julien saw no justice either in the NHL’s decision that Joe Pavelski’s first-period goal should stand despite video replay showing Thornton’s stick pressing against Tuukka Rask’s blocker.
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Perhaps Zubrus is an answer there. There are a lot of positives. “When you’re checking boxes, there are a lot of good boxes there”, DeBoer said. So I m happy he s here, excited to work with him this week, and we ll see where he fits.
