Goalie Magnus Chrona will make his second career NHL start Saturday for the San Jose Sharks, and it will not be any easier than the first.
Chrona will be in net tonight as the skidding Sharks play the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center to start a two-day, two-game road trip.
“It’s going to be fun,” Chrona said Saturday morning. “I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
Chrona was recalled by the Sharks on Wednesday, one day after Mackenzie Blackwood was injured in a game against the New Jersey Devils. Blackwood was placed on injured reserve this week but is not expected to be out long-term.
Chrona, 23, made his first career NHL start on Dec. 28 against the Edmonton Oilers after Blackwood came down with an illness the day before and was unavailable to play. The night wasn’t fun for anyone in teal, as the Oilers scored four times on 12 shots in the first period before going on to a 5-0 win at SAP Center.
Kaapo Kahkonen relieved Chrona after the first period, and Chrona was back with the Barracuda on Dec. 30. In two career NHL appearances, Chrona, who made his NHL debut on Nov. 4 against Pittsburgh in a 10-2 Sharks loss, has a .724 save percentage and 9.50 goals against average.
Chrona said after the Edmonton outing, he received words of encouragement from his teammates, goalie coach Thomas Speer, and director of goaltending Evgeni Nabokov.
“It was great experience,” Chrona said. “Got to learn from it and go from there.”
The Stars do not offer much of a relief for Chrona or the Sharks, who have lost seven of their last eight games and are coming off a 0-5-0 homestand.
The Stars entered Saturday with a two-point lead over the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the Central Division and are among a handful of Western Conference teams that appear poised to challenge for the Stanley Cup.
Dallas is also the second-highest-scoring team in the league during 5-on-5 play with 145 goals in 62 games.
Both Chrona and Sharks coach David Quinn feel the Swedish-born goalie has a better chance at success now than in the days after Christmas.
“Just a tough position,” Quinn said of the game against the Oilers. “It was short notice, you’re going into the fire against Edmonton, who had started to play really well.
“Much different circumstances now. We’ve had a chance to prepare, we’re not going back to back so this puts him in a much better position to have success.”
“I feel a little more acclimated,” Chrona said. “Get in tempo with the pace and the systems of the NHL. I feel a lot more confident than last time.”
After he was reassigned to the Barracuda, Chrona, in the first year of a two-year contract, played in 13 games and had a .879 save percentage and a 2-7-2 record. For his first professional season after four seasons at the University of Denver, where he won a NCAA title, Chrona is 5-13-4 with a .892 save percentage.
So there’s work to be done before Chrona can become a full-time NHL goalie. Maybe a solid start tonight can help build some confidence, but it won’t be easy.
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“I think it’s an opportunity to have a good night, feel better about himself, and kind of take a step forward in his career,” Quinn said. “He’s under contract next year and this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon, so it’s another step in his development as a goalie.”
Quinn said Kahkonen will start Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. The game will be Kahkonen’s first against his former team.
Kahkonen was drafted by the Wild in 2014 in the fourth round and played three-plus seasons in the organization before he was acquired by the Sharks two years ago for defenseman Jacob Middleton.