James Reimer stopped all 38 shots he faced in the Red Wings' 5-0 win over Calgary, helping Detroit win after nearly a month without a start.
James Reimer stopped all 38 shots he faced in the Red Wings' 5-0 win over Calgary, helping Detroit win after nearly a month without a start.
For nearly a month, all James Reimer could do was wait.
Before Saturday’s game against Calgary, Reimer hadn’t earned a start since a 3-2 win over Toronto on Jan. 14. The odd man out of the Red Wings’ three-goalie tandem, Reimer got his reps in at practice and worked on his game. Most importantly, he stayed ready.
And when called upon Saturday, Reimer delivered. In a game in which Detroit was badly outshot 38-21, Reimer stopped all of them to lead a 5-0 win. Snapping a two-game losing streak by the Red Wings in the process, Reimer rose above and beyond expectations.
“Obviously you train and you practice and what not to play games,” Reimer said Friday after an off-day practice. “And so (I’m) excited to get back in there and try to help the boys out, see if we can get back on the right track here.”
Reimer more than got his team on the right track. In fact, he was a major influence in their victory. While the offense made the most of opportunistic chances that came especially on the power play, Calgary got ample shots through to the net with the exact shooters they wanted. Yegor Sharangovich, Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau and even new acquisition Andrei Kuzmenko — all the Flames scorers earned their scoring chances. All told, the Flames created 4.18 expected goals, including 13 combined high- and medium-danger shots, but Reimer’s pads, blocker and glove turned them all away.
Saturday’s win was one the Red Wings probably didn’t earn outright without some luck going their way, but they also had Reimer steering them to victory between the pipes, too.
Even more notable than that impact is how unexpected it was. Reimer last played Jan. 23, saving all six shots he faced in relief during a 5-4 loss to Dallas. He last started in a 4-2 win over Toronto where he stopped 28 of 30. However, those data points are largely outliers to his long-term body of work. In five of his previous 11 starts, Reimer let up five goals or more, and his goals saved above expected per 60 ranked second worst among all goalies to play 10 or more games.
His usage has reflected such struggles, as he has consistently been the third wheel of the goalie room most nights. Such a situation put Reimer at a disadvantage. It’s difficult for a goaltender to ramp up to game speed when they have only made saves in practice.
“Not ideal,” Reimer said of being the third string goaltender. “It’s not the situation you want to find yourself in, but you try and stay positive. And you try and be diligent with the time you have on the ice and off the ice, and making sure that you’re doing what you need to do to keep continuing to be better, but also be prepared when your number gets called.”
Reimer lived up to his word. When Derek Lalonde called No. 47, Reimer was a brick wall.
Some of the impact might come down to the importance of mental preparation to goaltending, which Reimer called 110% of goaltending while the rest is physical. Without Reimer’s hyperbole, it takes mental fortitude to not only come off the bench, but come out of the healthy scratch list and pitch a shutout.
The timing of Reimer’s red-hot night matters most of all, because the Red Wings have few options to turn to in net at a time when they need every win they can accumulate. Detroit’s backup goaltender, Ville Husso, continues to be out of the lineup with a lower body injury. Given how it came after less than a period of play in his return from a previous lower body injury, the Red Wings will likely be cautious about bringing him back too early. Meanwhile, Detroit starting goaltender Alex Lyon hasn’t been as sharp in recent games, showing stress fractures to his game after playing the past 17 out of 19 games.
Reimer’s keen play Saturday night gives a wave of confidence in his game, showing that he can be depended on for a greater share of the workload when Detroit needs someone to step up.
Stepping up doesn’t mean the Red Wings need a 38-sve shutout from Reimer most nights, although they’ll obviously take such dominance. Rather, he just needs to be serviceable and help his team. And in Calgary, amid a tough road trip, Reimer delivered all that and more.
After nearly a month-long wait, Reimer stepped in and delivered Saturday night. And as the Red Wings need him down the stretch, such dependability might mean he doesn’t have to wait so long for the next time.
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