Philipp Grubauer picks up 14th career NHL shutout

Philipp Grubauer of Rosenheim, Germany recorded his 14th career National Hockey League shutout on Wednesday. He made 26 saves for the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-0 win over the San Jose Sharks.

Grubauer made nine saves in the first period, seven saves in the second period, and 10 saves in the third period. Three Sharks players led the team with three shots on goal each. They were star defenseman Brent Burns of Barrie, Ontario, center Dylan Gambrell of Bonney Lake, WA, and rookie left winger John Leonard of Westwood, NJ.

Offensively for the Avalanche, it was an outstanding game for two European Avalanche forwards, Captain Gabriel Landeskog of Stockholm, Sweden, and right winger Mikko Rantanen of Nousiainen, Finland had four points each. Landeskog notched one goal and three assists, while Rantanen had two goals and two assists. Nazem Kadri of London, Ontario also had two assists. while Colorado got its other goal from Samuel Girard of Roberval, Quebec.

With the win, Grubauer improved to a record of 11 wins and six regulation losses, three shutouts, a stingy goals against average of 2.07, a .920 save percentage, three shutouts, and one assist. Grubauer’s two other shutouts this season came in an 8-0 clobbering over the St. Louis Blues on January 15, and in a 3-0 win over the Sharks on January 28. Grubauer’s assist this season came in the 8-0 Colorado win over St. Louis. He got the lone helper on a power play goal by Andre Burakovsky of Klagenfurt, Austria, which put the Avalanche up 2-0 at the time.

Grubauer’s three shutouts are tied for the NHL lead. Four other goalies have three shutouts. They are Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tyumen, Russia, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury of Sorel, Quebec, Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson of Pittsburgh, PA, and New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov of Samara, Russia. Of Grubauer’s 14 career shutouts, eight have been with the Avalanche, and six with the Washington Capitals.

The Avalanche are currently tied for third place in the West Division with the Minnesota Wild. Both teams are at 12 wins, seven regulation losses, and one tie, for 25 points.