BY DANIEL WERYHA – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
With this year’s shortened NHL season and compressed schedule, every loss seems to hurt more than the last. As teams develop momentum, others are being left behind. To make matters worse, goalies are dropping like flies. Without a proper training camp or a preseason one can say that NHL goalies were not prepared for the start of the season. The compressed schedule is also forcing goalies into back-to-back starts putting increased strain on their bodies. But without jumping to any conclusions let’s take a look around the league at some of the recent goalie injuries and how it may affect their team.
1. James Reimer: Toronto Maple Leafs (8-5-0)
The Maple Leafs are currently sitting in a playoff spot with their over .500 record and a lot of it has to do with their goaltender. Reimer has had a great start to this year posting a 2.31 GAA and a 6-3 record. Although Ben Scrivens has proved to be a worthy backup, he is still shaky at times. Reimer carried the brunt of the load in the Leafs’ four game win streak. Thankfully the sprained left knee is reportedly not serious and will only keep him out for one to two weeks. Yet anyone can tell you that Reimer is a streaky goaltender and being out for any period of time could affect his play when he returns.
2. Miikka Kiprusoff: Calgary Flames (3-4-3)
The Calgary Flames are off to a shaky start and their goaltending hasn’t been much better. Although the injury is not as bad as could be, Kiprusoff’s sprained knee will keep him out for two weeks. The Flames are beginning to fall behind and could really use a boost from their goaltending. Leland Irving will be his replacement for the time being and has already posted a 2.77 GAA with a 1-1-1 record. Calgary fans will have to hope that Irving can hold down the fort until Kiprusoff returns before things get really out of hand.
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3. Jaroslav Halak: St Louis Blues (6-5-1)
The Blues started the season 6-1 and have since gone on a five game losing skid. This can be primarily as a result of Halak’s injury and the poor play of Brian Elliot. Halak was expected to start Monday against the Kings but left the ice during warm up. His groin injury isn’t serious but for goaltenders it is one that can be nagging. If Halak returns to the net in full force, there is no reason why the Blues can’t regain control of this season. In the meantime, Jake Allen will get his first career start replacing the shaky Brian Elliot.
4. Jonas Hiller: Anaheim Ducks (9-2-1)
The Ducks are sitting with the second best record in the west and both of their losses belong to Hiller. The backup Viktor Fasth is 6-0 in net for the Ducks with a 1.74 GAA so there is nothing to say that Hiller will re-assume his starting role once he returns from his lower body injury. This does not seem to be a huge concern for the Ducks because they clearly have their goaltending situation under control.
5. Al Montoya and Ondrej Pavelec: Winnipeg Jets (5-6-1)
The Jets are only sitting one game below .500 but there is no reason to panic yet. With the return of Dustin Byfuglien the Jets have added some consistency back to their blue-line. Just when things were beginning to look promising, the Jets had a goaltending disaster in last night’s game against Philly. Pavelec, who was sitting out with the flu, was forced to replace backup Al Montoya who has now been diagnosed with a lower body injury. Montoya was off to a 2-0 start and has proven to be far more consistent than Pavelec who is only 3-6 to start the season.
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