12-26-2019, 05:23 AM
WINNIPEG – As an early afternoon practice wrapped in the blustery Manitoba capital of Winnipeg, Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle ambled over to James Reimer, stretching just outside the visitors crease, and offered a quick word. He, the 25-year-old Toronto backup net-minder and Manitoba native, would be making just his fourth start in the past 16 games against the Jets the following evening. It was the word of opportunity for Reimer, who has fallen into the role of backup, outmatched in recent weeks by Jonathan Bernier, his Quebec counterpart. "Its been," said Reimer in conversation with the Leaf Report, pausing briefly to choose his words, "its been an interesting year. Thats maybe the best way I can describe it." More than eight months after he steered the Leafs into their first playoff appearance in nine years and Reimer is no longer the no. 1 guy in Toronto. Bernier has wrestled hold of that mantle for the time being, earning the bulk of starts since the middle of December – 32 on the year compared with 21 for Reimer. Challenged, doubted, and dissected often throughout his 127-game NHL career, be it through summer trade talk for Roberto Luongo, deadline trade talk for Miikka Kiprusoff or a concussion that badly derailed his first full season, Reimer has managed to overcome a series of different hurdles in his tenure as a Leaf, but maybe nothing quite like this. Bernier is not a rumoured threat, nor a nagging injury to bypass, but a feisty challenger itching to prove himself in the spotlight. And thus far, the 25-year-old has taken full advantage of the opportunity hes been granted in Toronto, sitting amongst the top-10 in league save percentage (.925), while eventually establishing himself as the Leafs undeclared no. 1 starter. The looming challenge for Reimer is to snatch the job right back. And he plans to fight for it. He has not and has no intention of asking for a trade out of Toronto despite circumstances (Bernier trade, a proven track record) that might have led others in his situation to stray down that path. "Your end goal is to be the guy and you want that, but youve got to focus on everyday what I need to do so that that can happen," said Reimer. "Its like I want to win the Cup, but its not like every day I hit the ice Im going to win the Cup. I want to win the Cup, but when I hit the ice its what do I need to do to be the best I can be. And if you focus on that everyday then eventually the Cup will come. "Same with this (situation). Its obviously something you want. Its something you really want. But youve got to focus on a lot smaller goals." Those goals start with making full use of the opportunities he gets, however infrequent, and reshape a race that is likely far from over. One such opportunity presented itself earlier this week in Denver, Reimer propelling the Leafs to an unlikely 5-2 win over the Avalanche with 35 big saves. And now another opportunity looms against the Jets on Saturday evening, his club looking to avenge a 7-1 loss in Dallas two nights earlier. Reimers only real control in the matter of playing time is performance. And though he started with a bang in October – a gaudy .949 save percentage in six games – that performance has dipped downward (albeit with little help in some situations) with Bernier proving the more reliable and consistent of the two. "Thats exactly the way you approach it," Reimer said of earning more starts with performance. "You try not to look ahead. You try not to say Id like to get 10 out of 12 (starts) or 10 out of 20, or whatever, three out of seven, whatever it may be. "To me, when I get the nod I want to go out there and play my heart out." This is unfamiliar terrain for the Morweena native, that of the NHL backup. Though he very briefly battled with Ben Scrivens at the outset of last season, Reimer has quickly defined himself as a viable starter in the league, finishing 2013 with eighth best save percentage while steering the Leafs to a near-first round upset of the Bruins in the playoffs. He owns an impressive 63-38-15 career mark with a sturdy .915 save percentage. Falling into the role of second fiddle, thus, has been a challenge, mostly in the mental arena. "Its 105 per cent mental, I think, this game," said Reimer. "Its all about trying to be in the right mindset and trying to stay positive and knowing that when you have the extra time to work on stuff thats what youve got to do. Youve got to work your butt off so that when you get the nod youre as prepared as you can (be)." His longer-term future in Toronto remains murky at best. Reimer is a restricted free agent this summer with Bernier locked up for another year. In theory, the organization could opt to keep both – though Reimer holds arbitration rights and would seem to hold a pretty good case for a good raise – but more than likely one will be gone by next fall, if not sooner. Both want and have earned the right to start. The choice will ultimately belong to general manager Dave Nonis, who brought Bernier into the fold from Los Angeles in his first big splash as the Maple Leafs boss last summer. Reimer wants to stay and wont ask to go. But he also wants to play and intends to fight to do so. "I feel like Im becoming a better person for it or at least I hope so," he said of the experience this season. "I feel like Im battling and grinding and trying to do everything I can. As far as I know if youre doing that then thats all you can do." China Jerseys Reviews .com) - Former foes from the Mountain West Conference battle in the 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, as the 23rd-ranked Utah Utes clash with the Colorado State Rams at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday. China Jerseys NFL Authentic . Replay backed him up. Adeiny Hechavarria immediately followed the ruling with a go-ahead sacrifice fly for the Miami Marlins, who held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Sunday completing a three-game sweep. http://www.chinajerseyspaypal.com/ .C. -- Benn Ferrieros familiar with scoring important goals, just not in back-to-back games. China Jerseys Paypal . -- ETwaun Moore had 14 points in 30 minutes, and the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 87-86 on Sunday night. China Jerseys website .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova.(SportsNetwork.com) - With a chance to grab second in the Atlantic Division the Toronto Maple Leafs will have extra motivation as coach Randy Carlyle makes his return to the Honda Center to face his former team, the Anaheim Ducks tonight. Listen to the game live on TSN Radio Toronto 1050 at 10pm et. Carlyle served as head coach of the Ducks for six-plus seasons before getting fired on Nov. 31, 2011 and replaced by Boudreau. The Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007 under Carlyle, who went 273-182-61 during his time with Anaheim. The Maple Leafs currently sit third in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of the fourth-place Tampa Bay Lightning and one point behind the Canadiens. Carlyle won his first matchup versus the Ducks since getting fired, a 4-2 victory at home on Oct. 22. Phil Kessel had a hat trick for Toronto and Dion Phaneuf notched a goal in the Leafs fourth straight victory over the Ducks. Toronto also has won eight of the previous 11 meetings overall and four of the last six in Anaheim. "Toronto is a great team," Boudreau told his clubs website. "They have the highest scoring line in the league, and they can skate. And, its Randys first trip back. Theyre going to be all pumped up. It should be an exciting game, and it should be a really tough game." Hiller made 19 saves in that October loss and is 0-4-0 in his career versus the Maple Leafs with a 4.84 goals against average. Jonathan Bernier made 23 saves and is 3-1-1 lifetime versus the Ducks with a 2.22 GAA and will start in goal tonight. Toronto is beginning a five-game road trip tonight and is just 12-12-7 as the guest compared to 22-11-1 at home. The Maple Leafs hit the road having gone 4-1-2 in their last seven games, winning two straight in overtime. That includes a 4-3 triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Toronto led 2-0 after the first period and 3-2 with 6:26 lefft in the third period, but Philadelphia forced overtime on a goal with 2:32 on the clock.dddddddddddd Joffrey Lupul was able to secure the extra point for his club when he scored 2:21 into the extra frame. "We dont want to make a habit of blowing third-period leads, but things are going to happen and other teams are going to make plays," said Lupul. "We stuck with it and there was a good feeling on our bench going into overtime." Mason Raymond, Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner also lit the lamp in the win. Troy Bodie supplied two assists and Bernier made 28 stops. The Ducks, idle since Friday, have followed up a three-game winning streak with back-to-back shootout losses, giving them 93 points on the season and a four-point edge over the San Jose Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division. However, Anaheim now sits a point behind St. Louis for the most in the league after the Blues recorded a shootout victory on Sunday. The Ducks have been defeated in consecutive six-round shootouts, first falling to the Montreal Canadiens last Wednesday before a 3-2 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins two nights later. In the sixth round, Pittsburghs Brandon Sutter went to the backhand and lifted it high past Jonas Hiller. Ryan Getzlaf had the last chance for Anaheim, but he missed with a backhand attempt. Corey Perry had both goals in regulation for the Ducks, while Hiller turned away 15 shots in the loss. "I thought we played a great game," said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau. "Take away their power play, and I think they had 10 or 11 shots, which is great. We followed our game plan to a tee. We just lost in a shootout." Anaheim lost defenseman Luca Sbisa to a lower-body injury on Friday and he may sit out tonight when Carlyle returns to Anaheim for the first time as the coach of the Maple Leafs. ' ' '