Lukas Dostal Shines As Gulls Drop Eagles To Extend Win Streak
Mar 2, 2022By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
Is there anything Lukas Dostal can’t do?
The San Diego Gulls netminder starred in his team’s 5-2 victory over the Colorado Eagles tonight at Budweiser Events Center as the American Hockey League’s current Player of the Week proved more than worthy of his title.
WATCH: Dostal Scores Empty-Net Goal
"What a night," Gulls head coach Joel Bouchard said. "He’s on a roll. You know, emotion was way high tonight to be honest. We build this game for our team like a playoff game and I cranked the guys up. There was a lot of emotion out there. The guys played hard. We put ourself in trouble, but I felt that Lukas was the one that kept his emotion in check. As a goalie, that’s what we want. He didn’t get riled up into anything. He stayed composed and that’s why he was able to execute that play at the end. Cause he was so composed all game through. And really, I have not seen an emotional game like that all year. So, for him to be performing under these condition it was a really good performance."
The Czechia native made a career-high 51 saves and established the second-longest shutout streak in team history. Additionally, he added an empty-net goal, the first goalie goal in franchise history and the first of his AHL career.
"So, the puck was kind of, like I think it hit the glass and just moved over quite slow," Dostal said. "I saw all the guys on the red line so I just thought like, ‘Yeah, let’s try it, let’s stop the puck,’ and then I took a look and the guys were like on the blue line so like if it’s not going to go to the goal, then this is going to end up in the neutral zone. So, but luckily, I got really under the puck and I just shot it over so it was fun moment."
Trevor Carrick (1-1=2), Hunter Drew (0-2=2) and Nikolas Brouillard (0-2=2) supported their netminder as San Diego earned its first win over Colorado this season. Danny O’Regan also stretched his point streak to three games as the Gulls earned a third consecutive victory.
The Gulls started early, with Vinni Lettieri capitalizing on the team’s first power play of the game to open the scoring at 9:48 of the initial frame, giving San Diego its first lead over Colorado this season. Brouillard collected to the puck at the point and fed it to Lettieri, who sent his shot through traffic and through Eagles netminder Justus Annunen for his eighth goal of the season and his fourth point (1-3=4) in his last three games.
Brouillard earned his 17th assist of the season and ends the night tied with Brayden Tracey for the team lead in helpers.
Dostal would help the lead stand, turning aside 17 shots in the opening frame. It marks the most opening-period shots San Diego allowed this season, surpassing the previous high of 16.
"It’s tough to play here," Bouchard said. "The altitude, guys were a little short winded a bit at the beginning. Something we underestimate. We came in with a playoff attitude, playoff performance. It’s the only team we haven’t beaten in our (division). It was just like, a lot of emotion. We felt if we didn’t have emotion tonight, we were not going to be in the fight against a fast team and a good team at home. And you’re right, the special teams did exactly what we asked them to do. But that emotion got a bit carried away at times and that’s what we’re gonna revisit. I’d rather tame a tiger than paint stripes on a cat, right? You gotta be proud of the way the guys, they didn’t channel it great at times, but at least they’ve got more swagger than three-four months ago, right?"
The Eagles remained resilient, attacking the middle frame with the same transition attack they showed in the first. Jack Badini would take the wind from beneath their wings, scoring shortly after a successful penalty kill to push the Gulls’ lead to 2-0 at 9:37 of the period.
Drew collected the lone assist on the goal as he carried the puck from the Gulls defensive zone and centered a pass to Badini, who then threaded the puck through the legs Annunen.
The spotlight was on Dostal for the remainder of the second period as the goaltender stymied a frustrated Eagles offense with a montage of stellar saves, including two high-quality scoring chances from Colorado’s Martin Kaut on a 5-on-3 power play late in the frame.
In total, Dostal stopped 21 shots in the second period and 38 through two periods. He helped San Diego’s penalty kill eliminate all five Colorado chances in the middle frame as the Gulls went a perfect 6-for-6 when shorthanded.
"Yeah, just trying to do my best," Dostal said. "You know, obviously just trying to do my best and when there’s lots of shots, you just feel good about it and like, you know the guys also like they block the shots, they like will box out the guys so sometimes I just have clear view on the blue line. It’s a team sport, they’re helping me. Sometimes I help, sometimes they help me."
The Gulls kept their foot on the gas in the third period, with O’Regan extending their advantage to three at 4:09 of the final frame. The veteran center collected the rebound of a Carrick point shot, pushing the loose puck past Annunen to extend his point streak to three games (2-3=5).
His 10 goals tie him with Drew for second on the team.
Carrick would score a goal of his own less than two minutes later, pushing the Gulls lead to four with a power-play goal. The defenseman took a pass from Brent Gates Jr. and one-timed the puck from the point, squeaking his shot through the pads of Annunen for his sixth goal of the season.
The multi-point performance is Carrick's third of the season and the first since Jan. 26 against Colorado. The defenseman has five points (1-4=5) in his last six games.
Drew also collected an assist on the goal, posting his third multi-point game in the last five contests.
Annunen, who entered tonight on a personal three-game win streak, suffered his first loss against San Diego. He stopped 21 of the 25 shots he faced.
Nonetheless, the Gulls’ four goals were not to go unanswered as the Eagles cut the score in half to 4-2 with back-to-back goals from Shane Bowers and Mikhail Maltsev.
"I think guys meant well," Bouchard said. "Guys were in the fight. We had guys that had a great performance. The backend was solid, really solid. They’re tough to play against. I think our youth showed up front at times. That being said, I like that guys were emotional about it. Like I said, they were in the fight, so it wasn’t perfect. And you’re right about (Colorado’s) speed and our puck management. So it wasn’t terrible. If it was terrible we wouldn’t have been in that position. Was it great? No. It was fair with good intention."
The Bowers tally ended Dostal's shutout streak at 114:21 (dating back to last Friday against Henderson), the second-longest stretch in franchise history. It trails only John Gibson's 137:13 streak over three games (10/21-10/30/15).
Dostal would end the hopes for a comeback, sending the puck the length of the ice for the empty-net goal with just 20 seconds left in regulation. San Diego’s netminder collected a dump-in behind his net and, without immediate pressure from Colorado, measured his shot. He elevated the puck over the sea of blue sweaters, skipping it into the open net for the milestone marker.
"I mean it was one game, obviously, and there’s lots of shots and you know, you kind of get comfortable there," Dostal said. "I’m just happy that I could do my job, help the boys and this is important, an important win for us. This is the third in a row, I believe, is it third in a row? You know, it’s important for the confidence and for the kind of good feel so hopefully we’re going to continue with it on Friday and Saturday."
The two teams will continue the three-game series on Friday at 6:05 p.m. PT.
"I’m treating every game like a playoff game," Bouchard said. "If we want to be good in the playoff we might as well play now. Cause that’s the way it is. This group is new from the beginning of the year. We’re finding our ways. We’re fighting together. You don’t turn that switch when playoff come. It doesn’t work that way. You gotta start playing that playoff mindset, that playoff game early in the season. We started way back, guys. We’ve started way back. Playoff is a word that you sometime use a just couple weeks before. I’ve been banging that word for weeks. Cause if you want to be prepared for the playoff, you gotta prepare for it in the season."