So who has won the deal between the Kings and the Leafs? Bernier with all those acrobatic saves? Scrivens, leading the National Hockey League in S% and second in shutouts?
Is is just too early?
Well today's shootout win by the Leafs was in game #42, so that is beyond the scope of this post.
It's hard not to notice Bernier. Standing on his head, 40 + times a night. The puck never makes it out of the Leafs zone. Leafs end up winning.
Splitting the duties with James Reimer (but actually having appeared in 10 more games) Bernier has posted a .930 S%, having turned away 847 of 911 shots. Gotta be something fitting about 911 shots against. I think they've just been robbed!
Anyways, looking more closely, we see Jonathan has faced 40 or more shots 6 times, including 50 in a win over Dallas on Dec. 5th. What impresses me is, the only game he has lost in regulation when facing 40 + shots a night was October 19th vs. Chicago. Bernier is 3-1-2 in games that 40 pucks were on net.
He's also sort of been like a stopper for the Leafs this year. December was supposed to be a rough road for the Leafs, but Bernier went 4-4-2 that month. If that's as bad as it gets...
But what about Scrivens? With another Jonathan (Quick) hurt, the Kings have quickly turned to both him and Martin Jones.
Jones has played well, but Scrivens has played more games this year. So he is the "main man" in the Los Angeles crease until Quick returns.
Jones, it should be noted, has posted a 8-2-0 record with 1.29 GAA. Martin also has a S% of .955 and 3 shutouts. He does not have enough games played at this moment to qualify for the GAA or S% lead.
And it's not as if Ben Scrivens hasn't had some eye popping performances to rival Jonathan Bernier:
What about stopping a combined 53 shots in a back-to-back shutout performances against the Devils and Rangers Nov 15th and 17th?
How about 32 of 33 saves in an OT loss to Colorado on November 23rd?
Stopping 37 of 39 shots two days later against Vancouver in a win?
And then 38 of 40 against the Sharks November 27th?
Now the wheels have come off the chariot as of late. Scrivens has lost his last 3 games. But in only 18 games, he finds himself on top of the NHL in S% (.936), 3rd in GAA (1.84) and 2nd in SO (3).
I am convinced, based on what I saw of him last year with the Leafs (and the numbers Ben has put up this year with the Kings) that he could be a number one goalie on an NHL team.
Bernier, of course, I'm sold on. So who has won the deal?
To be honest with you, I lean towards "too early to tell." And it is worth noting that the Leafs also gave the Kings Matt Frattin in the deal. He's just come back after missing the last 5 games due to injury. Matty has 2 goals, 4 assists and is a minus 7. He averages about 13 minutes per game. So at this point Frattin is merely a footnote to the goalie-for-goalie deal.
No hockey team can win without goaltending. And both of these guys have helped their respected teams in situations that really require them. Bernier catches the eye of the viewer. Scrivens catches the eye of the stats lover.
How about I come back after 41 more games? Or, the playoffs?
References
"Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. Jan 1. 2014. <https://www.nhl.com>
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. Jan 1. 2014.
Is is just too early?
Well today's shootout win by the Leafs was in game #42, so that is beyond the scope of this post.
It's hard not to notice Bernier. Standing on his head, 40 + times a night. The puck never makes it out of the Leafs zone. Leafs end up winning.
Splitting the duties with James Reimer (but actually having appeared in 10 more games) Bernier has posted a .930 S%, having turned away 847 of 911 shots. Gotta be something fitting about 911 shots against. I think they've just been robbed!
Anyways, looking more closely, we see Jonathan has faced 40 or more shots 6 times, including 50 in a win over Dallas on Dec. 5th. What impresses me is, the only game he has lost in regulation when facing 40 + shots a night was October 19th vs. Chicago. Bernier is 3-1-2 in games that 40 pucks were on net.
He's also sort of been like a stopper for the Leafs this year. December was supposed to be a rough road for the Leafs, but Bernier went 4-4-2 that month. If that's as bad as it gets...
But what about Scrivens? With another Jonathan (Quick) hurt, the Kings have quickly turned to both him and Martin Jones.
Jones has played well, but Scrivens has played more games this year. So he is the "main man" in the Los Angeles crease until Quick returns.
And it's not as if Ben Scrivens hasn't had some eye popping performances to rival Jonathan Bernier:
What about stopping a combined 53 shots in a back-to-back shutout performances against the Devils and Rangers Nov 15th and 17th?
How about 32 of 33 saves in an OT loss to Colorado on November 23rd?
Stopping 37 of 39 shots two days later against Vancouver in a win?
And then 38 of 40 against the Sharks November 27th?
Now the wheels have come off the chariot as of late. Scrivens has lost his last 3 games. But in only 18 games, he finds himself on top of the NHL in S% (.936), 3rd in GAA (1.84) and 2nd in SO (3).
I am convinced, based on what I saw of him last year with the Leafs (and the numbers Ben has put up this year with the Kings) that he could be a number one goalie on an NHL team.
Bernier, of course, I'm sold on. So who has won the deal?
To be honest with you, I lean towards "too early to tell." And it is worth noting that the Leafs also gave the Kings Matt Frattin in the deal. He's just come back after missing the last 5 games due to injury. Matty has 2 goals, 4 assists and is a minus 7. He averages about 13 minutes per game. So at this point Frattin is merely a footnote to the goalie-for-goalie deal.
No hockey team can win without goaltending. And both of these guys have helped their respected teams in situations that really require them. Bernier catches the eye of the viewer. Scrivens catches the eye of the stats lover.
How about I come back after 41 more games? Or, the playoffs?
References
"Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. Jan 1. 2014. <https://www.nhl.com>
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. Jan 1. 2014.
I'd say that Scrivens was given his chance but he never panned out with the Leafs. No defence to help him there, as compared to LA now. Bernier is a solid backup, but only with a struggling team like the Leafs would he be a starter. He stands on his head nightly but if he has an off game, it's pretty hard to watch. Let me ask you this though Scott: When was the last time the Leafs had a quality goalie developed in-house? Potvin was closest but he was never a "quality" guy - he was again a good 2nd-level goalie but never on par with the Roys or Josephs of the era.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. I think the last tandem to develop in the Leafs system was Wregget / Bester, Bester / Reece. Not bad, but not enough! That could also be the story of the Leafs this year!
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