Dalton
Over the weekend, Providence (AHL) head coach Rob Murray mentioned to the P-Bruins’ radio network that the No. 1 goaltender job was Matt Dalton’s to lose.
The 24-year-old has certainly responded to his new role.
Boston’s Providence farm club has tied Springfield for sixth place in the seven-team Atlantic Division on the strength of a three-game winning streak that has featured Dalton between the pipes for each victory. He capped his strong run with a 3-2 shootout victory Tuesday night at Bridgeport, where he made 15 saves in regulation and overtime and then won the shootout, 2-1.
For the week, Dalton stopped 94 of 98 shots (.959 save percentage), including a 45-save shutout for his second blanking of the season.
The young P-Bruins have needed the safety and security that comes with reliable goaltending since the start of the season. They haven’t gotten it from veteran Nolan Schafer, nor did they get it from Michael Hutchinson before he was assigned to Reading (ECHL) to make room for Dalton’s recall from there at the start of this calendar year.
Murray told the P-Bruins radio network he really like Dalton’s positional play and rebound control over the last few games. With five more points still to make up to crack the playoff picture, Providence will need several more great weekends from Dalton.
Who’s hot
Forward Zach Hamill is now just one off the team scoring lead with 25 points with at least one point in eight of his last 10 games (2-9-11 in that span). … Winger Jordan Caron scored the game-tying goal with 59 seconds left at Bridgeport. He has four goals this month. … Defenseman Jeff Penner has one goal, one assist and a plus-4 rating in his last three games.
Who’s not
Center Joe Colborne has gone six games without a goal. … Defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk is point-less in his last six with a minus-2 rating.
Roster report
After Boston returned defenseman Matt Bartkowski to Providence, the P-Bruins re-assigned Ryan Donald to Reading. … Forward Brian McGrattan returned from an upper-body injury Friday.
Upcoming games
Friday, Jan. 21 vs. Manchester
Saturday, Jan. 22 at Portland
Sunday, Jan. 23 vs. Manchester
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We were at the CT Whale/Providence game on Saturday night here in Hartford, and Dalton looked very solid. While he did let in two goals late in the game, it was all thanks to a Brian McGratton meltdown that ended up giving the Whale a 6-on-3 (goalie pulled) major power play for the rest of the game. At one point in the game, I believe it was in the second period, Dalton took a shot from the slot to the left shoulder that stung him (he was favoring it right away and after the play left the zone), but he held up and made some really good saves for the rest of the game. Glad to see him in the system — at least based on that one game alone.
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