The already scrambled goaltending situation of the Toronto Maple Leafs became more bizarre on Friday with the news of James Reimer re-aggravating a lower body injury in a 1-0 loss to Minnesota on Thursday.
"Everyone thought (Reimer) was ready to go and obviously he wasn't because he's back where he was." Leafs coach Mike Babcock said in St. Louis on Saturday morning.
Was this where Reimer was re-injured? #Leafs pic.twitter.com/yEK2Roof0U
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) December 5, 2015The Leafs decided earlier in the week to send Jonathan Bernier to the AHL Toronto Marlies on a 10-day conditioning stint to straighten out his game and regain some confidence. With Reimer injured, the club could have scrapped that plan and brought him back, but instead rookie Antoine Bibeau was recalled and Garret Sparks will make his third NHL start against the Blues on Saturday.
"I've made the decision to stick with our plan with Bernier," Babcock said. "We'll continue with the process. Sparks and Bibeau will carry the load for the Leafs."
The decision is more a product of the Leafs schedule than anything else. Following the completion of the three-game road trip on Saturday, Toronto returns home to play the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday and does not play again until December 15th against Tampa Bay. By that time, Bernier’s stint with the Marlies will be complete and Reimer will have had 10 days of recovery time.
Toronto has scored nine goals in their last six games (1-4-1), prompting Babcock to shuffle his line combinations in advance of Saturday’s contest in St Louis.
Nazem Kadri, who has two goals and one assist in the last 15 games has been moved down to a second line unit with Peter Holland and Leo Komarov, while Tyler Bozak has been reunited with top line winger James van Riemsdyk and PA Parenteau. Shawn Matthias has been moved to the fourth line unit with Byron Froese and Brad Boyes, while the checking line of Michael Grabner, Nick Spaling and Daniel Winnik remains intact.
Backup goalie Brian Elliott played for St. Louis in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Islanders in Brooklyn on Friday, which should mean that starter Jake Allen will be in goal for the Blues.
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Bernier was not seriously tested in Rochester on Friday, making 22 saves in a 4-0 shutout victory over the Amerks at Blue Cross Arena and is expected to play for the Marlies on Sunday against Manitoba Moose at Air Canada Center.
The domino effect of the Reimer injury resulted in a mad scramble for the Marlies to find a backup for Friday. Orlando Solar Bears goalie Ryan Massa, who won his first AHL start in Syracuse one week ago, had returned to his ECHL club after his professional tryout contract expired.
Rob Madore was recalled from Orlando, but would not be able to get to Rochester in time, so 38-year-old Marlies Zamboni driver David Ayres was contacted and hurriedly made his way to Central New York.
“It was pretty quick. I didn’t really have a chance. I gave my brother a call on my way down here and he was pretty excited about it,… Ayres said to the National Post’s David Alter. “My phone actually blew up. I just pulled it out of my pocket and I had 17 or 20 messages in there, all pictures of me on here and this and that. That’s kind of neat.…
ICYMI: A zamboni driver was the Marlies backup goalie Friday night in Rochester. MORE@ https://t.co/xLm8wUI9xP pic.twitter.com/FgQfWr8aPb
— BarDown (@BarDown) December 5, 2015Lost in the shuffle of all the goaltending chicanery, the Marlies effectively bounced back from a pair of home defeats against St. John’s last weekend with solid 38 shot effort in Rochester. William Nylander regained the AHL scoring lead with a pair of power play goals, former KHLer Nikita Soshnikov also scored a pair and 2013 first rounder Frederik Gauthier had two assists in the 4-0 win over the Amerks.
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