Dell makes 31 saves in Sharks win against Penguins

SAN JOSE -- Aaron Dell made 31 saves, and Tomas Hertl scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period to lift the San Jose Sharks to a 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at SAP Center on Saturday.
Dell started in place of No. 1 goalie Martin Jones, who missed the game with a lower-body injury.

"That's what I'm here for," said Dell, who will start again Sunday at the Anaheim Ducks. "If they need me for three more games, if they need me for one game, I just got to take it as it comes."
\[WATCH: All Penguins vs. Sharks highlights\]
Timo Meier scored for the Sharks (25-14-6), who won for the fourth time in their past five games.
"It's tough, with Jones going down with an injury," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We knew [Dell] would be great, and he was again. He was outstanding for us. That's a nice luxury to have, with two good goalies."
Dell is 11-3-2 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .928 save percentage in his second NHL season.

Penguins rookie goaltender Casey DeSmith made 34 saves in his second straight start, the second of his NHL career.
Conor Sheary scored for Pittsburgh (25-21-3), which went 1-2-0 on its California road trip.
"We just couldn't get those opportunities, our second and third ones, that were important especially in a close game like that," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "You've just got to bury the puck. At the end of the day, it's just execution. I had some really good looks and, you know, put a couple of those in, it's a different game. … We competed hard, we generated some good looks. Power play too. Same kind of thing."
Hertl scored on the power play to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 1:53 of the third, four seconds after Penguins defenseman Jamie Oleksiak was called for cross-checking Joonas Donskoi. Joe Pavelski redirected Brent Burns' point shot, and Hertl put the rebound into a wide-open net.
The Penguins pulled DeSmith with 2:15 remaining. San Jose missed three shots at the empty net, but Pittsburgh didn't get a single shot through against Dell with the extra attacker.
Sheary gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 3:18 of the first period. Dominik Simon tracked down his own rebound behind the net and passed the puck in front to Sheary, who beat Dell between his pads for his first goal in eight games.

"I'm not putting up the numbers I'd like personally, but if I bring the work ethic every night, I can help this team win," Sheary said. "We're trying to get back to being relentless out there. We roll four lines, and if they produce, we can roll."
Meier scored at 17:44 of the first to tie it 1-1. Pavelski threaded a cross-ice pass between Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist and defenseman Justin Schultz for Meier, who beat DeSmith with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle for his 10th goal.
"Obviously, we know Pittsburgh is strong," Meier said. "They have a pretty good lineup and a lot of skill and speed. So, for us to win that game shows that we're improving our game and we're playing pretty good hockey right now. So, we're looking forward to taking another step and getting better every game."
Dell made 16 saves and DeSmith made 11 in the second period.
"I thought both goalies played extremely well," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "We had a good number of chances and so did they. We just couldn't find a way to score a goal. Casey played terrifically. He made some big saves."

Goal of the game

Hertl's goal at 1:53 of the third period.

Save of the game

Dell stopping Phil Kessel at 11:14 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Meier's goal at 17:44 of the first period.

They said it

"Having another game under my belt helps confidence-wise. The Sharks shoot the puck from all over the place and they try and get tips and rebounds. They play a little different game than we usually see." -- Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith
"He's been performing great for us this year. He's showed in the games that he came in what a great goalie he is. We enjoy playing in front of him, and that's a huge two points for us to get here tonight. We're looking forward to continue like that tomorrow night against Anaheim." -- Sharks forward Timo Meier on goaltender Aaron Dell

Need to know

The Sharks recalled goaltender Troy Grosenick from the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League. ... The Sharks had 28 blocked shots, one shy of their season-high 29 in a 3-2 shootout win against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic led them with six. ... Crosby had an assist to extend his point streak to seven games (three goals, 12 assists). ... Burns had two assists and has 25 points in his past 18 games.

What's next

Penguins: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, FS-SE, NHL.TV)
Sharks: At the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday (9 p.m. ET; PRIME, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)