Curtis McElhinney notches second shutout of NHL season

Curtis McElhinney (Wikimedia Coomons)

Curtis McElhinney of London, Ontario recorded his second shutout of the 2018-19 National Hockey League regular season on Saturday. He made 24 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes blanked the Dallas Stars 3-0 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

McElhinney made four saves in the first period, six saves in the second period and 14 saves in the third period. It was the second time this season that the Hurricanes shutout the Stars 3-0 as Petr Mrazek made 33 saves in a Carolina win over Dallas on February 16.

In the Hurricanes win over the Stars on February 23, Carolina got a goal from Jordan Martinook of Brandon, Manitoba. The fifth year center, who played his first four NHL seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, scored his 14th of the season from Jordan Staal of Thunder Bay, Ontario and Jaccob Slavin at 17:29 of the third period. Meanwhile, Greg McKegg of St. Thomas, Ontario and Warren Foegele of Markham, Ontario notched assists on the Hurricanes’ game winning goal by Lucas Wallmark at 3:15 of the first period.

McElhinney’s previous shutout this season came on February 5 when he made 23 saves in a 4-0 Carolina win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has 23 NHL career shutouts. In 2018-19, McElhinney has a record of 16 wins, seven regulation losses and one loss in extra time. He has a goals against average of 2.25 and a save percentage of .923.

The Hurricanes meanwhile are in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by the slimmest of margins. At 72 points, they are tied with the Penguins in eighth place. However, Carolina has the tiebreaker, because they have 32 wins in regulation or overtime, while Pittsburgh only has 31.

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