An expanded AHL playoff field means that it would take a pretty brutal collapse for the San Diego Gulls to miss out on the postseason.
Given the way the Gulls are playing of late, they not only look like a playoff team but resemble one that may do some damage come May.
On Friday night at Pechanga Arena, the Gulls (23-25-2-0) won their fourth straight game with a 3-1 victory over the Henderson Silver Knights (24-22-3-1).
Jacob Perrault, Greg Printz and Nikolas Brouillard scored goals, Lukas Dostal finished with 22 saves and the Gulls finished with a 25-22 advantage in shots on goal in a thoroughly dominant effort.
The Gulls have outscored opponents 16-2 during the streak while blending a nice mix of solid goalie play from Dostal and Olle Eriksson Ek, tight defense and balanced scoring. Another key stat: the Gulls have killed off all 12 opponent power plays during the streak, including all four Friday night.
“I think our execution as a group the last few weeks, we’ve worked a lot on it,” coach Joel Bouchard said. “We’ve challenged the guys and they’ve raised to the challenge.”
The Gulls also improved to 5-0 against Henderson on the season and trail the sixth-place Silver Knights by four points in the Pacific Division standings.
The teams meet again tonight at Henderson and Tuesday night at Pechanga.
The top seven teams in the nine-team Pacific will qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs.
Drew makes switch
Hunter Drew was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the sixth round of the 2018 draft with the idea that he may develop into a solid defensemen at the professional level.
Last season, when a slew of injuries left the Gulls depleted at forward, the third year pro out of Kingston, Ontario, made the move up the ice where getting in front of pucks became less important than putting them into the back of the opponent’s net.
Drew has not only managed the somewhat unusual shift, he has prospered and that could change the trajectory of his hockey journey.
The 23-year-old, who is in his third season as a Gull, entered Friday with a team-high 13 goals to go with 17 assists while also consistently showing the ability to track back and handle defensive duties when game flow dictates it.
At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, Drew has the size needed to get to the front of the net and handle physical defensemen and is increasingly showing the skating and stick skill required to pounce when a scoring chance presents itself.
The switch from helping prevent goals to scoring them may be permanent.
“I’d say I’m a full time forward, but I don’t mind jumping back and helping the D out,” Drew said. “I had to do it a couple times this year. Obviously, I’m comfortable with that, so I don’t mind helping the team in any way…It’s versatile. You can play two positions, it gives you a lot more options.”
Carter is a freelance writer.
