By the numbers: Toronto's Bernier looking worse post-conditioning stint?
The Toronto Maple Leafs sent goalie Jonathan Bernier on a conditioning stint in the AHL in early December after Bernier posted an 0-8-1 record with a .889 save percentage to start the season, but now that Bernier is back with the Maple Leafs, his numbers continue to puzzle the team and its fanbase.
Bernier collected his first three wins of the season since his return, but the rest of his numbers remain a disappointment. The 27-year-old hit another low Tuesday when he was pulled from a game against the New York Islanders after giving up six goals on just 15 shots. A disappointed Bernier faced the press after the game, but his statements rang hollow.
Via TSN:
While Bernier says Tuesday's outing is not his game, the poor start is not far from how he has played in the seven games since the conditioning stint. Take a look at these numbers:
30: Bernier has yet to make 30 saves in game in any of his seven post-AHL games. To his credit, Bernier also has not faced 30 shots in a single games since he was sent down.
5-of-7: Bernier allowed three or more goals in five of those seven starts. Coincidentally, Bernier also allowed three or more goals in five of nine games before the conditioning stint. His rate of higher goals-against games has increased since he was sent down.
2-of-7: Bernier allowed five or more goals in two of his seven post-conditioning stint starts. He allowed five or more goals in just one game before the conditioning stint, as he gave up five goals in a 5-3 loss to Montreal on Oct. 24.
.876: Bernier has a .876 save percentage since returning to the Maple Leafs. He had a .889 save percentage before he was sent down for the conditioning stint.
.883: Bernier's current save percentage for the season is .883, a league-worst.
1: Bernier has allowed one power-play goal against since his return. He allowed six power-play goals in nine games before he was sent down. This is one area where Bernier has improved.
3-2-2: Perhaps the most important number at the end of the day is the win total. Bernier has a 3-2-2 record since returning from the AHL, a drastic improvement over his 0-8-1 record before he left.
The numbers do not exist in a vacuum. Toronto has improved as a team since the beginning of the season, and Bernier was a hard-luck loser at times early in the season, especially through his first four games. It's hard to blame the goalie for the 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Oct. 17 or for the 2-1 shootout loss to the Sabres on Oct. 24.
But games like the 6-3 loss Tuesday against the Islanders stand out, especially when a goalie is trying to redeem himself in the eyes of his coach, and most of Bernier's numbers do not show any improvement since his AHL stint. Some of them are even worse.
All of this makes the Bernier situation even tougher to handle. The Leafs have to stick with the troubled goalie at the moment given an injury to rookie goaltender Garret Sparks. Bernier's price tag (two years, $8.3 million) makes him hard to move unless another team gets desperate and wants to take a chance on the goalie. The Leafs likely would have to swallow a chunk of Bernier's contract to make that happen.
For now, it is hard to find answers when the team has tried almost everything to get Bernier going again.
"I wasn’t good enough tonight,” Bernier told reporters. “It wasn’t my game. I wasn’t good. I’ve just got to be better next game."
