Berra perfect in shootouts
But Flames goalie has yet to record a regulation win
For the record, Reto Berra’s bicycle save against the Columbus Blue Jackets a few months ago was better, but Friday’s pad stop on Ryan Ellis to seal the 5-4 shootout win over the Nashville Predators was decent.
That being said, there’s always the one that got away and, for Berra, it was Roman Josi’s attempt — the lone goal that blew past the Calgary Flames goaltender in the shootout portion of Friday’s comeback.
The two players, of course, are both from Switzerland and are both going to be representing their country at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
“I saw him after,” said Berra, who managed to pick up his fourth National Hockey League shootout victory on Friday by also turning aside Matt Cullen while David Legwand missed the net. “‘I knew you liked to go five-hole.’ And, he said, ‘Yeah, I know that you know I like to go five-hole.’ So thought for sure he was going to do the same thing ... I thought he was going to go high glove or low blocker because I know he likes to go five-hole.
“But in the end we won and it was all good. But if we would have lost that one and he would have scored. Oh my God.”
And, in actuality, it turned out that he couldn’t have dreamed a better script to end the game.
Head coach Bob Hartley had pulled Karri Ramo after Eric Nystrom’s third goal in the second period as the Flames were behind 3-1 which left the door (and expectations) wide open for the 27-year-old Swiss netminder.
So, of course the team would tie things up. So, of course the game would go into overtime. And, of course, the game would go into a shootout.
It was only fitting that his mother, Liz, and older sister, Graziella, were visiting Berra and in the Scotiabank Saddledome stands for the first time since he made the NHL earlier this 2013-14 season.
“They were waiting for me after the game and we went for dinner,” he said. “They said it was so great and special and never seen a stadium like that. It was almost their first time out of Europe, first time, for sure, seeing an NHL game live. They said it was so different than watching it on TV. There are a lot of things you don’t see when you watch it on TV especially when you are live in the stadium.
“They were really happy for me and really happy I had ice time. And then we won in the end in a shootout ... they knew I like it and they knew I’ve done well at it. It was great.”
Shootouts are, well, Berra’s thing. Dominant in the area during his time in the Swiss elite league — where Hartley had seen him aplenty — he’s now 4-0 in shootouts in his first year in the NHL while his record (6-14-2) has yet to see a regulation win.
On Friday when Berra was summoned to duty, he had nothing to lose.
“I liked the situation because it was almost a pressure-free situation,” Hartley said. “We were already down by two. Hey, just go in there, and have fun and give us a fight. That’s what I told him, ‘Just give us a chance and keep us in the game.’”
Obviously, at that point, no one anticipated a shootout scenario as the Flames fell behind 4-2 just over 10 minutes in the third.
But when it came down to it, Berra said his experience made a big difference.
“For sure, it gives me a confidence push,” said Berra who wound up stopping 13 of 14 in regulation. “I know in the past I did really well in shootouts. So, for sure, it gives me a confidence push before the shootouts. But I don’t think, ‘Oh. We have two points.’ It’s not like that because it’s still really tough. There are some really skilled players but it’s always a big challenge for me.”
Hartley pointed out Berra’s automatic advantage — his six-foot-four, 194-pound frame. “He’s big,” he said. “He moves well. I’ve seen him play so many times in Switzerland and I know what he’s capable of. He’s trusting the size of his body real well in the shootouts. The shooter coming in, you basically need a perfect shot because there’s not much room to shoot.”