Bernier still a key to any serious Maple Leaf success

One of the encouraging things in a predictably hot and cold Maple Leaf early season has been that the Leafs have won a fair bit without having to rely on miraculous goaltending most nights. A year ago, despite being out-chanced quite a bit through most of the season, they maintained a healthy playoff position for the majority of the year because the goalkeeping was pretty darn good.  In fact, the prevailing view seemed to be that without Jonathan Bernier (and to a lesser extent, Reimer), the Leafs could not possibly have been in a position to contend for the playoffs, despite some impressive offensive play at times.

This year, it feels as though the Leafs are getting better play from across the roster most nights—at both ends of the ice. What is Santorelli—a plus 13 at this point?  I didn't see that coming.  Kadri is a significant plus player, while still creating offense. Lupul has contributed despite injuries and therefore more limited playing time. Kessel, of course, leads everybody in terms of points, but Bozak is averaging almost a point a game, so he must be doing something right, eh?

Who isn’t pleased to see Clarkson with 8 goals already? Holland continues to chip in on offense, while earning real minutes from Carlyle. Panik is part of the team’s impressive bottom-six depth (that was a neat little misdirection move to throw Miller off on Toronto’s second goal Saturday night) and Komarov, a solid contributor, has been out lately. His (hopefully) pending return should only add a much-appreciated edge to our game.

On defense, I’ve liked what Robidas is delivering lately. Just steady, solid—exactly what we hoped for.  Dion is Dion, logging big but now more manageable minutes and a plus 11 on the year.  Gardiner still has his issues but does enough to keep us all wanting to believe he has huge upside. For his part, Rielly is maybe not having a breakout sophomore season, but at 20, he shows the immense promise that he will be “the guy” on our blueline down the road. Franson has been mostly the good Franson this season, putting up significant points from the back end while also registering a solid plus rating. Holzer, much maligned last season, has quietly stepped in for the injured Polak, who himself brings a welcome physicality to the Leaf blueline when healthy.

But I mention all this (too positive, perhaps?) mostly as a backdrop to an important point: watching the Leafs in action against the capable Canucks on Saturday night at the ACC, it was Bernier who made sure the Leafs ultimately walked away with two hard-earned points.  It was more the Bernier of a season ago—calm, composed, steady.  Not needing to make many eye-popping saves, simply because he was so well positioned that the puck came to him.

44 saves was a reminder of, well, a year ago.

I really don’t know where this Leaf team is headed. Either direction still seems a distinct possibility; they have, as we all know, played a lot of their schedule at home so far—the next few weeks will be a test, for sure. But for now, they have earned enough points to be a player in the Eastern Conference standings, with 31 points in 26 games.

Still, I just believe that if this team is really going anywhere, Bernier will have to be the Bernier we saw Saturday night.  New assistant coaches and a “new” system might be important, yes, and winning certainly creates a positive mood around the team, which is vital.  And while all the things we talk about here- grit, desire, 'will', leadership, hating to lose, etc. all matter, without great goaltending, most teams will struggle.

Bernier is the guy who will have to play as well as he has shown he can the rest of the way.

I still like Reimer a lot—always have. And I still believe he, too, can help this team win games and be a factor.  In fact, I think he could fill in if needed for Bernier. But Bernier seems to provide his teammates with the kind of calm presence they respond well to.

Bottom line:  we will see if this team, once they hit the road, has really turned a corner or whether this recent ‘run’ (with a couple of clunkers thrown in to throw us off the track) was indeed yet another Leafland mirage.

If they are the real deal, Bernier will be the needed glue to keep this all together.