James Reimer’s last appearance wasn’t long, but it was significant.
Reimer came on in relief of a cramped-up Roberto Luongo in Wednesday’s OT win over San Jose, and stopped both shots faced to earn the W. Now, he gets a shot at a second straight victory, as he’ll go for Florida when it takes on the Ducks in Anaheim.
As we wrote about earlier, Reimer has really turned his season around. After signing a fairly lucrative five-year, $17 million deal with the Panthers last summer, Reimer had a tough start. He posted a .907 save percentage in October and a .890 in November, and had just one regulation win in his first nine appearances.
Since then he’s been rock solid, especially lately. Reimer has three wins in his last four appearances, posting a .930 save percentage over that span (allowing just five total goals).
For the Ducks, John Gibson gets the start in goal.
Elsewhere...
-- In Columbus, Sergei Bobrovsky looks to right the ship as the Penguins come to town. Bobrovsky has played well in spurts lately, but has lost six of his last eight starts. For Pittsburgh, Matt Murray’s in goal.
-- Cam Ward gets the start for Carolina as the ‘Canes come out of their bye week with a home date against the Avs. Calvin Pickard will start again for Colorado, though head coach Jared Bednar said AHL recall Jeremy Smith will make his second-ever NHL appearance soon.