Bernier gets hook in Leafs’ loss to Isles
Over to you, James.
James Reimer is expected to make the start Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, and it could carry a “return of the king” theme after a dismal, 6-3 thrashing the Maple Leafs absorbed Tuesday at the hands of the New York Islanders.
The Leafs will need a huge effort from their goalie after the Islanders scored almost at will at times — thanks in large part to a sloppy defensive effort by Toronto, and a forgettable night for Jonathan Bernier.
“I wasn’t good enough,” Bernier said flatly, in a statement that applied to every other Leaf on the ice.
“I didn’t think we were ready as a team, but it wasn’t my game, I wasn’t good . . . I’ve got to be better next game.”
Bernier’s next game, at least as the No. 1, is once again in question.
Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock pulled him after two periods, a stretch marred by an uncharacteristic poor defensive effort by Toronto, but one that also saw the New York Islanders bag six goals on 15 shots.
Reimer was scheduled to make his first appearance in net against the Pens on Wednesday since aggravating his groin injury Dec. 3.
But things got bleak enough for the Leafs and for Bernier on Tuesday night, forcing Babcock to bounce Bernier and start Reimer for the third period.
Babcock said he discussed ice conditions at the Air Canada Centre with his coaching staff, and was contemplating pulling Bernier even sooner.
“The ice was so bad, like nothing I’ve ever seen, and we could have put him (Reimer) in earlier . . . we talked about it on the bench, but we were scared of his groin (getting re-injured on the bad ice),” Babcock said. “We wanted him (Reimer) to warm up right so that was the thinking there on the timing (of pulling Bernier).”
Bernier certainly did not wear the blame himself. Babcock, who warned against the Islanders coming back strongly after a 3-1 loss to the Leafs on home ice Sunday, saw New York wake up with six goals, tying its season high.
The same Islanders team also had just three goals in four of its previous five games entering Tuesday’s tilt in Toronto.
The Leafs top two lines were on the ice for two goals each, and about the only bright spot for the offence was the fourth line, which delivered goals by Brad Boyes and Shawn Matthias.
“It was good to have a game like that with Boyes, we tried to play hard, but it wasn’t our best game as a team,” Matthias said. “They took it to us, we made a lot of shots, but we weren’t playing our style, we were playing their style, run and gun.”
The Leafs get the chance to ditch this effort quickly with another game Wednesday. Bernier, though, may be the only Leaf who has to deal with the loss for an extended period of time.
He now owns the NHL’s worst save percentage — .883 — with 49 goals on 419 shots.