Leafs’ sloppy effort vs. Flyers proves costly
James Reimer made at least three highlight reel saves in the Maple Leafs’ 5-3 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday night, and that was being conservative.
But the math didn’t add up for the Leafs and Reimer, who remains the Leafs’ defacto No. 1 goalie in the wake of what was a rumour-filled and emotionally draining trade deadline day in Toronto.
“I think he just fit in with the rest of the team — we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be,” said Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, who wasn’t about to give his team any slack, especially after its performance in the second period in which it was outshot 17-6 and outscored 2-0.
This was Reimer’s opportunity to make a statement after deadline day. Twenty-four hours earlier, he was going to be supplanted by Roberto Luongo or partnered with Miikka Kiprusoff.
Deals for those star goalies fell apart, leaving Reimer and Ben Scrivens back in charge of the Leafs nets. And back in charge of the club’s playoff drive, since it’s the goalie position that comes under scrutiny more than any other at this time of year. Reimer did make several spectacular saves and that was a credit to both his steadily improving goaltending and the way he handled himself at the deadline and over the past month that was filled with trade rumors. Reimer admitted the entire episode was a distraction. But he is back in charge, and the story of his goaltending will continue to be a big part of the Leafs’ story this season. “How do I assess my performance (Thursday)?” Reimer said. “I felt like I hung in there . . . but pucks kept going in the net.” Carlyle fleshed out that performance in context to the team; the coach said any time a team scores three goals it should win. The Leafs didn’t, and it reflected some sloppy play in their zone and some turnovers that shouldn’t be happening to a team with playoff aspirations. Now, the going gets really tough for Reimer and the Leafs. If they win five or six of their remaining 11 games, they should be in the postseason. But they play four of their next five games against the Rangers and the Devils — teams right behind them on the playoff ladder.