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Nov 28 '17
EDMONTON – The Maple Leafs do not have a controversy. Alex Manninger Jersey . What they own instead, through the first 12 games of the season, is one of the strongest goaltending tandems in the league. "I dont think you could say that we dont have 1-A and 1-B," Randy Carlyle said confidently of his two goaltenders, following practice in Edmonton on Monday afternoon. Tag-teaming between the pipes in Toronto, Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer have combined to post the fifth-best collective save percentage in the NHL so far this season. Right there alongside potent special teams and a juiced up offence, goaltending has been a primary factor in the Leafs early season success (16 points, tied for first in the Eastern Conference). "If you dont have goaltending you dont have a chance, you dont have a starting point," said Carlyle, frowning on the daily interest his goaltenders attract. "And every team in the league is looking for the same thing; for their goalies to go in there and give them a chance. In our situation our goalies have been very, very good for us." The numbers between the two are nearly identical so far. Bernier (5-4-0) has started seven games and owns a .930 save percentage; .936 at even-strength and .919 when his team is shorthanded. Reimer (3-0-0) has started five of his own and boasts a .933 overall mark; .933 at even-strength and .920 shorthanded. As a tandem, the duo boast a .928 save percentage, trailing only the hot-starting Avalanche, (10-1-0), Bruins (7-3-0), Sharks (10-1-1) and Canadiens (7-5-0). Theyve managed such effectiveness in spite of an increasingly heavy strain; the Leafs yield an average of 35 shots per game, falling under the 30-shot plateau in just one game so far. Working within the tandem concept has been an adjustment for both goaltenders. Bernier had never started three consecutive games in the NHL prior to joining the Leafs, stuck as the understudy to Jonathan Quick for years in Los Angeles. The 25-year-old has started three in a row twice already this season and says the adjustment is mental above all else. "Its a whole new mind-set for me," he explained to the Leaf Report. Rather than gearing up for the one customary start hed made every couple weeks with the Kings, Bernier has had to prepare himself mentally for the possibility of a string of starts. He hadnt done that since the 2009-10 season, when he was the starting netminder for the AHLs Manchester Monarchs. "To get that routine back and get that good feeling every night I think thats the hardest part," he said. "I knew coming in this season if I was going to play a few games back-to-back my focus [needed] to be consistent. All year, thats what Im going to try to work as hard as possible because I kind of lost that." Bernier, who considers any game where he yields more than two goals to be an off-night, looks to Martin Brodeur as the ultimate example of mental consistency. The Devils future Hall-of-Famer was previously a regular for 70-plus games each and every season. Guiding the Leafs to their first playoff berth in nine years in 2013, Reimer faces a different and maybe more difficult circumstance than his Quebec-born counterpart. He was the entrenched No. 1 in Toronto last season, starting 31 of 48 games with a .924 save percentage that ranked eighth at the position. His once-firm hold on the starting job was thrown into question with the acquisition of Bernier. "I think you want to play consecutive games," he told the Leaf Report. "Thats when you feel you can get in a groove and thats when you feel you can play your best. I think thats the ultimate thing. And so when you have two guys its kind of hard to do that sometimes. It might be a little harder to adjust." Competition certainly has the tendency to breed improved results, but in Reimers situation, that may not be the case exactly. His focus, as he explains it, isnt squared so much on competing with Bernier, but rather on his own individual performance. "You cant think about it," said Reimer of the competition, coming off a 37-save performance against the Penguins on Saturday. "Its just some more, in essence, white noise that you cant let get through. "You dont run a marathon looking behind you the whole time – youre looking forward," he continued. "And if you feel a guy on your heels do you run a little faster? Maybe. But maybe thats not how you should run anyways ... You can say [the competition will] push you, but at the same time its more important for you to stick to your game-plan and not worry about it." Leading the bench in Anaheim for seven seasons, Carlyle has plenty of experience and success with the tandem approach in goal. When he and the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007, it was actually Ilya Bryzgalov who started the opening four games of the postseason before Jean-Sebastien Giguere took over in Game 5 against the Wild, running the crease the remainder of the way. "That was the plan in the beginning," Carlyle said of the tandem concept. "Weve stated that and were going to continue to go again with the person who we feel is going to give us the best chance for success on any given night." When Leafs general manager Dave Nonis swung the trade for Bernier in late June he pledged to have the makings of a strong foundation in goal with a pair of 25-year-olds. "We feel weve got two of the top young goaltenders in the league right now," said Nonis. "Both of them we feel have the potential to be solid No. 1s. "Both guys have the potential, both of them want it, and that can only make your organization stronger." So far – its still early – so good. Mohamed Salah Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Trent Alexander-Arnold Jersey . -- David Price didnt think he would be in Port Charlotte this spring.Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) - Frans Nielsen scored two goals and collected one assist as the New York Islanders kicked off a seven-game road trip with a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. Ryan Strome finished with a goal and three assists for the Islanders, who got 21 saves from Jaroslav Halak. Anders Lee and Josh Bailey also scored for New York, which has won six of its last eight games. A couple of the bounces went our way, said Lee. You know, you get rewarded when you work hard and you create those opportunities. Tonight, thats what happened. Andrew Ladd had two goals and Ondrej Pavelec stopped 28-of-32 shots in the Jets second straight loss. I thought our compete in that game changed, it got stronger as the game went on, Jets head coach Paul Maurice said. Honestly, thats all we value here now, so the results we cant spend a whole lot of time worrying about. The Islanders benefited from favorable breaks in the first period. Jets defenseman Adam Pardy whacked the puck out of the air during a scramble around Pavelec and it wound up going in off Strome at the 10:04 mark. Nielsen made it 2-0 on a 5-on-3 power play. Emre Can Jersey. Johnny Boychuks stick broke on a slap shot from the top of the left circle and the puck went right to Nielsen, who scored into an open net on a shot from below the right circle with 1:44 remaining. Ladd put the Jets on the board just as a power play ended, scoring off a give- and-go with Blake Wheeler at 4:41 of the second period. Nielsen one-timed in a return feed from Strome to restore the Islanders two- goal lead with 4:33 left in the second. Winnipeg opened the third period on a power play and trimmed its deficit to 3-2 on Ladds goal 47 seconds in. Mathieu Perreault made a nice move around an Islanders player before dishing to Ladd in the slot. Lee banged in the puck at the right post to give New York a 4-2 lead at 11:35. Bailey added an empty-net goal with 32 seconds to play. Game Notes The Jets suffered their first regulation loss this season to a team from the Metropolitan Division (6-1-3) ... The Islanders improved to 5-0-1 in Winnipeg since the Jets relocated there for the 2011-12 season. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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