“Finally, we played well as a team. We had a lot of injuries, we lost six out of seven games, so after the last game we lost, we sat down with the boys and had a little meeting about how we should play. Even with those injured, we did a great job today and we worked hard for each other,” said Palát to a ČTK employee.
The 25-year-old Dostál has been sidelined since the end of November due to an unspecified upper-body injury. A few days later, Anaheim also lost Petr Mrázek, who has problems with his groin. Against New Jersey, Dostál scored for the first time in the 17th minute when Stefan Noesen answered Troy Terry’s opening goal.
In the second period, the Czech goalkeeper was beaten by Paul Cotter and, after Palát’s pass, which Radko Gudas tried in vain to lay down, also Cody Glass. In the 56th minute, the world champion from Prague remained on the bench, but Anaheim failed to reduce. On the contrary, Palát first narrowly missed the empty goal with a shot across the field, then two minutes before the end, the Czech striker encouraged Brown to score.
Palát was happy about the return of his national team teammate to the opponent’s lineup. “Every time we play against Dosty, he catches us so I’m glad we finally beat him. But I’m glad he’s back from injury, he’s a fantastic goalkeeper. I’m glad he’s healthy,” he said.
| NHL: |
|---|
| New Jersey – Anaheim 4:1 (1:1, 2:0, 1:0) |
| Goals: 17. Noesen, 26. Cotter, 38. Glass (PALATE), 58. Brown (PALATE) – 14. Terry. Shots on goal: 22:31. LUKÁŠ DOSTÁL caught 57:50 minutes for Anaheim, made three saves out of 21 shots and had a success rate of 85.7 percent. Spectators: 15,755. Stars of the game: 1. Allen, 2. Noesen, 3. Lammikko (all New Jersey). |
| Minnesota – Ottawa 3:2 (0:0, 2:1, 1:1) |
| Goals: 24. Pitlick, 37. Hartman, 60. Eriksson Ek – 40. Stützle, 46. Cozens. Shots on goal: 25:35. Spectators: 18,058. Stars of the match: 1. Eriksson Ek, 2. Wallstedt, 3. Johansson (all Minnesota). |
| Pittsburgh – San Jose 5:6 in overtime. (1:1, 3:0, 1:4 – 0:1) |
| Goals: 13. Crosby, 21. McGroarty, 30. Hayes, 40. Rust, 46. Mantha – 11. and 59. Toffoli, 48. and 62. Klingberg, 55. Eklund, 58. Celebrini. Shots on goal: 43:32. Spectators: 17,059. Stars of the game: 1. Klingberg, 2. Toffoli (both San Jose), 3. Mantha (Pittsburgh). |
