An hour before puck-drop I am sitting in the control room at my pal Steve’s recording studio talking about the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltenders. Not uncommon, as we are both lifelong puckheads, and he happens to be Tyler Kennedy’s cousin.
“…What’s up with Jonathan Bernier, O”?
“It’s all mental, bud… what he really needs is a chance to step up and win a game in relief of James Reimer or Garret Sparks.”
To get his career back on track, Bernier needs to save the day. He needs to convince himself, his teammates and his coach that he can carry the mail. Within an hour and a half of the aforementioned conversation, he finds himself in that exact circumstance.
What are the chances…
Jonathan Bernier (almost) Saves the Day
After the San Jose Sharks pot their second goal of the first period, a banged-up Sparks heads down the tunnel, grimacing in discomfort, and in comes a nervous Bernier; the only Leaf netminder without a win – or a serious injury – this season.
After a very solid outing in which he stopped a penalty shot and a breakaway chance, as well as making about twenty other quality stops on 28 shots, Bernier remains without his first “W” of the 2015-16 campaign as the Leafs capitulated in overtime. But, this time, Bernier was the victim, not the accused, as a Brent Burns point shot headed wide pin-balled off of Peter Holland’s shin pads and into the net.
Leafs head coach Mike Babcock on Bernier getting another chance to take back the net: “Work…keep it.”
He’ll get another chance on Saturday versus his former club, the L.A. Kings, as Babcock characterized the injury to rookie keeper Sparks as “long-term.”
Despite Babcock’s obvious frustration with his team’s performance – especially in the first period – he was quite complimentary of his relief ‘tender’s effort and performance, confirming that he’ll get the nod on Saturday, while stressing that Bernier will now have to compete, work hard and “find his mojo.”
Bernier was visibly disappointed that he couldn’t lock it down and finally claim a victory, but like his coach, he should be pleased and prepared to build off of this milestone performance as he’s going to be the go-to-guy for the foreseeable future as Reimer is still not close to returning.
In fairness to Bernier, he played a very solid game, he was composed, and he was aggressive in challenging shooters and controlling rebounds; a lot more like the Bernier of 2014-15 than the shell-shocked version Leaf fans have come to dread this season, the first in a two-year, $8+ million deal awarded via arbitration.
Bernier rose to the occasion for L.A. during the lockout-shortened season of 2012-13 in the absence of Jonathan Quick. The Kings starter missed considerable time due to injury, allegedly delaying negotiations between former Leafs GM Dave Nonis and his Kings counterpart, Dean Lombardi.
In similar fashion, alleged chatter between Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving and Lou Lamoriello concerning a possible trade for the beleaguered Bernier is likely to be back-burnered, as the Leafs are suddenly reliant on the very goalie they recently couldn’t find a use for.
While Bernier may be feeling that the hockey gods have shunned him, one would be hard-pressed to recall a Leafs goalie on the receiving end of so many chances to redeem himself, and that’s exactly what he needs to do, starting Saturday night against a west coast opponent coming off a convincing shutout victory versus the Montreal on Thursday night.
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