Don Cherry weighed in on the fact James Reimer was the Toronto Maple Leafs’ starting goaltender Saturday night.
“What we call what they do with Reimer is throwing him to the wolves,” said Cherry during his Coach’s Corner segment on Hockey Night in Canada.
“You play him in Vancouver ... you’re not going to win in Vancouver, they were not going to win that game. There’s no way. You put him in Boston, going to be pretty tough to win in Boston.
“So what you do is protect (Jonathan Bernier).”
So, there is that theory. The “wolves” got the best of Reimer. The Bruins defeated the Leafs 3-1, thanks to a pair of third-period goal from Patrice Bergeron.
However, Reimer played well, making 31 saves. He was particularly good in the first period, the Leafs were outshot 14-7.
But playing the Bruins also has something of personal significance for Reimer, who was in goal for the Leafs during their third-period meltdown in Boston in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final.
“It means something, but I don’t think it’s as big a deal as I’m sure people are making it out to be,” Reimer said Friday, as per an article in Metro.
“If we win there (Saturday) it doesn’t reverse what happened last year. If we play them in the first round of the playoffs again, then maybe you can say there’s more of a story there. But it’s a regular-season game.”