The Toronto Maple Leafs were impressively resilient in their 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, coming back from an early two goal deficit against one of the NHL’s best defensive clubs, but all their efforts would have been wasted if not for the efforts of James Reimer, who made 31 saves in the final 40 minutes to earn the Leafs their second victory on the challenging California leg of their lengthy road trip.
The stage was set at the Staples Center for former Kings first rounder Jonathan Bernier, who was making his first start in Los Angeles after being traded to Toronto last June, but the Leafs netminder did not take to the ice for the second period after suffering what was described as a lower body injury.
“(Bernier) was a little sore before the game and we just said ‘if you can’t go, let us know’ and after the first period, he felt he wasn’t going to be able to give us what we needed and we made a decision to go with Reimer.… Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said following the game.
Toronto fell behind less than two minutes into the game, as forward Marian Gaborik scored his first goal as a King and could have been in a bigger hole if not for Bernier’s impressive right pad stop on Anzi Kopitar, but the Slovenian star succeeded in beating his former teammate late in the first on a great setup from Olympic star Drew Doughty.
The Leafs salvaged some hope late in the period thanks to their power play, as Morgan Rielly’s work along the boards and Nazem Kadri’s pass found a wide open Dion Phaneuf, who waited and patiently backhanded the puck past Jonathan Quick to get Toronto on the scoreboard.
Reimer entered in relief in the middle frame while Bernier remained on the bench as the backup and appeared not to be the same goaltender who looked rusty and flustered giving up six goals in San Jose two nights before. In spite of being outshot 17-8 in the period, it was Toronto who scored the only goal, as Carl Gunnarsson’s point shot deflected off of Kopitar’s stick past Quick.
The Leafs received a bit of a scare late in the second when Reimer dove out for a loose puck and collided with Kings forward Jarret Stoll. The Toronto netminder was slow to get up after Stoll’s left skate hit him flush in the mask, but Reimer took advantage of the television timeout and stayed in the game, in spite of reporting following the game that he had a slight headache.
“I don’t think he really actually got kicked in the head, if you really look at the replay….it hit him more in the shoulder area with the skate.… Carlyle said in response to why Reimer did not go off the ice to the quiet room. “He(Reimer) said he was fine.…
The shot disparity and territorial play continued to be in favor of Los Angeles into the third, but Toronto was opportunistic as the scored the game winner during a Kings power-play. Reimer robbed Kopitar on a point blank chance and the Kings forward second shot ringed around the boards to an alert James van Riemsdyk, who counterattacked and dished to Mason Raymond for the open shot that beat Quick over the left shoulder.
The two points were critical for the Leafs, who maintain a three point cushion over Montreal and Tampa Bay for second place in the Atlantic Division and have opened up a nine point lead over ninth place Detroit and New Jersey in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
“We need every point that we can possibly get and we are in desperation mode.… Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said following the game. “We just found a way to gut it out.…
Los Angeles radio host Joey Vendetta reported on Sportsnet FAN 590’s Brady and Walker show Friday morning that he spoke with Bernier following the game and that he did not think that the injury would keep him out any longer than a week. While Carlyle stated that he did not know if the extent or severity of the injury would necessitate the emergency recall of goaltender Drew MacIntyre from the Toronto Marlies.
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