Shtalenkov Shows That He’s Ready

Goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov is at every practice and he’s on the bench every game, ready and waiting . . . and waiting.

Shtalenkov had played in only three games since Christmas until he went in Sunday in emergency relief of iron man Guy Hebert after Hebert hyperventilated.

“You lose that feeling [that] you’re a part of it. You just show up and sit on the bench during the game. That’s it,” Shtalenkov said. “I was even thinking, ‘I’m done for this year,’ with 10 games left.”

Shtalenkov drew raves for stopping 32 of 33 shots over the final two periods of a 4-1 win in Edmonton.

“I thought Mike did a great job,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “Especially considering he’s hardly played in 30 games.”

Shtalenkov said being Hebert’s backup during his hot streak became almost like being a healthy scratch, except he didn’t sit in the press box.

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With two assists, Jari Kurri moved past John Bucyk into 11th place on the NHL list with 1,371 points.