The Toronto Maple Leafs coaching staff will have a tough decision regarding who to start tonight vs the New Jersey Devils. James Reimer has had a rough go the last 3 games and isn’t playing as well as the Maple Leafs staff, his teammates and fans have come to expect from him. Last night’s game vs Montreal is probably one he’d like to have another try at; 2, and debatably 3 goals, were savable pucks, combined with some savable goals vs Detroit and Tampa Bay, and we have a hornets nest of differing opinions as to who is at fault for his sub-par play. The season hangs on the play of the goaltender in the final games of the season.
Eric T. from Broadstreet hockey had a good post on back-to-back games for goalies and was able to glean the following stats:
Rested goalies playing behind a tired team had the exact same .912 save percentage as Kurt found overall for rested goalies — which presumably means that rested goalies behind a rested team were also at .912, and that the team’s rest has no impact on the goalie’s save percentage. The entire 0.020 difference would then be due to goalie fatigue.
The alternative is to have an AHL Journeyman—and a good one, at that—start his first NHL game this season, with the season hanging on his performance. Sitting Reimer, a goalie with a proven track record of success, despite him having a rough stretch the last 3 games, is a tough call.
Armed with all of the above information makes starting Drew McIntyre a distinct possibility, but will be unpopular and is loaded with risk.
Over to you, Randy. There’s no importance to these games at all.
A 5-4-1 finish to year gives Leafs decent shot at playoffs. And 6-4-0 or 5-3-2 should almost guarantee they make it.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 23, 2014
That said, if Leafs go pointless in their next two games, you can stick a fork in them. Even Columbus in 10th is on pace for 91 points.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 23, 2014
Maple Leafs / Devils Starting Lineups