Want a sign that the Toronto Maple Leafs are truly handing the torch to James Reimer, at least for the moment? Tonight might provide that evidence.
After another sterling Reimer performance boosted the Leafs to a 2-1 shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes, Mike Babcock was convinced of his earlier notion to give Reimer back-to-back starts.
That’s one of those things that normally happen for workhorse-type No. 1 goalies, right?
Reimer starts tomorrow at Boston; Babcock says he was leaning that way before game & believes James will be fresh enough to go B2B
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 21, 2015
Really, how could Toronto deny Reimer, unless tanking truly is the goal?
Look at all of these Reimer stats:
#Leafs James Reimer has a .951 Save % over his last 9 games. It's his best save % over a 9-game stretch in his career.
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 21, 2015
James Reimer (@MapleLeafs) earned his fifth straight win and extended his point streak to 7 games (5-0-2). #TORvsCAR pic.twitter.com/GYQIzeuBXx
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 21, 2015
Reimer has not surrendered more than one goal in 21 consecutive periods; he makes some miscues, but floodgates never open
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 21, 2015
James Reimer ranks fifth in save percentage among goalies with at least 10 starts (.933). Third in even-strength save percentage (.948).
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) November 21, 2015
Meanwhile, fair or not, Jonathan Bernier’s stuck at a 0-7-1 record with poor individual stats.
Will this stick even if Reimer has a hiccup? Maybe, maybe not. So far, he’s taking that decision out of Babcock’s hands.