James Reimer is the NHL’s Third Star of the Week

I sincerely didn’t expect Toronto’s goaltending to be garnering any accolades this season, but here we are – James Reimer is the NHL’s third star of the week. Matt Duchene took home the top weekly honours while Mats Zuccarello was named second star.

Reimer went 3-0-0 in three games this week, with a .952 SV% and a 1.62 GAA. The 27-year old has made the most of his latest opportunity to run with the Leafs’ net. Jonathan Bernier, who has yet to win a game this season, sat out for an extended period of time, allowing Reimer to find a groove and turn in stellar performance after stellar performance. 

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by Toronto’s coaching staff either. Mike Babcock rewarded Reimer with starts even when Bernier returned from injury, and only sat Reimer on the back end of this weekend’s back-to-back schedule. Bernier gave up four goals on 30 shots in a loss to the New York Rangers last night, and Babcock wasted little time in letting the media know it’d be Reimer back in net tomorrow evening against the Colorado Avalanche.

It certainly sounds like Reimer has taken over the starting job from Bernier for the time being, and that’s very cool. It wasn’t long ago that Bernier was sent out night after night despite poor play, so it’s good to see a Leafs coach rewarding good performances (even if it is the easy choice).