TORONTO — Sometimes Reto Berra can’t believe it, either.
So the Colorado Avalanche goaltender will over head to the NHL’s website and click on the stats section, where his headshot appears twice as the current league leader in both save percentage (.953) and goals-against average (1.50).
“I like it,” said Berra. “It’s really nice. I mean even friends from Switzerland, they send me these pictures, and it’s a really good time for me right now.
“So I’m just trying to enjoy it and keep working hard.”
Heading into Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was arguably the most surprising story of the early season.
Berra didn’t arrive in the NHL until joining the Calgary Flames two years ago at age 26 and was a candidate to be bought out last off-season after the emergence of Calvin Pickard behind Semyon Varlamov.
But the Avs stuck with him and have quickly been rewarded for that decision, with Berra backstopping them to three straight wins to open a season-defining seven-game road trip while the struggling Varlamov recovers from a groin injury.
His strong play has even been something of a revelation for the Avalanche, who thought they were getting a No. 2 goalie when they dealt a second-round pick to the Flames at the 2014 trade deadline.
Now Berra is their No. 1.
“We had a lot of confidence in him,” said Colorado coach Patrick Roy. “Obviously when you’re making a trade for a player it’s because you believe he’s going to play a major role for your team. We saw him as a great backup to Varly.
“Right now he’s playing with a lot of confidence, and we’re very happy.”
That confidence extends through the dressing room.
You’d have to go back to last season to find a start where Berra didn’t give his teammates a strong chance to win, and they’ve been particularly impressed by the determination he’s shown since taking over the crease.
“He’s been criticized a lot over the past couple seasons that he’s not an NHL goalie,” said centre Nathan MacKinnon. “Some people wouldn’t take that so well. He’s taken it and ran with it.”
Berra was actually a fourth-round draft pick of St. Louis in 2004 and spent another seven seasons playing domestically in Switzerland before coming to North America.
He enjoyed his fair share of success there, as well as internationally, but this is his finest stretch of play in the NHL. There doesn’t seem to be any one particular reason for it.
He wasn’t pleased with last season and put in a lot of work over the summer and has made some adjustments under goaltending coach Francois Allaire. Perhaps most importantly, he’s getting more of an opportunity than he’s ever had at this level before.
“I had to learn how it works in the NHL,” said Berra. “It’s so different than in Switzerland. Probably I just needed a little time, maybe more time than other people.”
His time, it appears, is now.
