Is goalie coach to blame?

Is it time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to consider the possibility that Francois Allaire just might not be the right guy to be working with James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson?

Given the fact the Maple Leafs have hit the 60-game mark in the 2011-12 season and do not have a No. 1 goaltender established, Leafs Nation is looking for someone to blame … someone to point the finger at. Hey, Allaire has gotten all kinds of credit over the year for his guidance of successful NHL goaltenders; certainly that makes him as worthy a target as anybody when things aren't going so well.

This is not a damnation of the Maple Leafs successful goaltending coach, who has been credited with helping Patrick Roy with three Stanley Cups and Jean-Sebastien Gigure, who won a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Cup, but with Toronto's goaltenders struggling and the team ranking 28th in goals-against, every possibility must be considered.

Leafs' coach Ron Wilson certainly isn't buying into the theory.

"They've had times when they have played outstanding this year so it's a matter of these guys being consistent and getting the job done," Wilson said.

Wilson has no beef with Allaire and believes it is up to his young -- and relatively inexperienced -- goaltenders to find their game. Reimer, 23, is 11-8-4 with a 2.98 goals-against average and .903 save percentage. Gustavsson, 27, is 16-12-2 with a 2.89 GAA and .905 SP.

Together, they have played a grand total of 160 NHL games. That's just 1,012 fewer games than Martin Brodeur -- who beat the Leafs 4-3 in overtime Tuesday night -- has played in the NHL. In that game Gustavsson allowed a few seemingly stoppable shots including the game-winner -- a shot that appeared to be going wide until he hit it into the net.

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As frustrating as it might be for Leafs fans, the reality is the team's goaltending situation might simply be a work in progress. Of course that could change in the next few days with Monday's trade deadline quickly approaching.

As far as Reimer and Gustavsson are concerned, Allaire -- Frankie -- is the goalie coach for them.

"I have the best goalie coach in the world and we work hard every day," Reimer said. "If you had told me at the start of the season 60 games in we'd be in a playoff spot I would have taken it for sure. I'm happy with where we're at and hopefully we can keep it going."

Asked how his style, under the tutelage of Allaire differs from the style he played previously, Reimer said: "It's smarter, really. Frankie breaks down the game in a way that makes it simpler and easier for the goalie. If the puck is in certain areas of the ice you know what you are supposed to be doing. He makes things black and white; there's not a whole lot of grey and as a goalie, that's what you need. When the puck is in this area then you know you have to make this move. That gives you confidence. You're not thinking, 'Do I have to do this? Do I have to do that?' We practice the same way every day with repetition and doing things properly."

In a nutshell, Allaire teaches his goalies to drop their knees and then make themselves as big as possible sliding from side to side of the net. He wants the puck to hit his goalies and, based on what we have seen from the Toronto pair this season, as well as from Ben Scrivens when he was up earlier, the style reduces the need for athleticism. Of course his system took a hit when the NHL decided a few years back to streamline the goalie equipment. Can you imagine Tim Thomas, who has won the Vezina Trophy twice and Conn Smythe once, playing this style? Never!

"I don't want to take anything away from Tim Thomas, but if you are using him as an example, it took him how many years to make the NHL?" Reimer said. "That's not a knock on Tim Thomas at all, but if you look at Henrik Lundqvist, he's calm and he plays back. He has Frankie's brother (Benoit) as a goalie coach and he's arguably the best goalie in the league. Some goalies were born to play a butterfly or a blocking style. If Tim Thomas did that he wouldn't be a guaranteed success, but that's just not in his makeup. For me it works and that's the type of goaltending I like to play.

"Giguere was pretty much my favorite goalie from junior on and I loved the way he played. Now I get to play under the coach who made Giguere so it works out great for me. Like I have said many times, if it wasn't for Frankie I wouldn't be having success."

Gustavsson was the most hotly pursued free agent goalie a few years ago, but his NHL career has yet to take off. A big part of that is because he had heart problems that prevented him from playing and developing, although he has shown at times this season he has what it takes to be a starter. At other times he seems to lack confidence.

"I don't know if it is anything to do with Frankie," Gustavsson said. "It's more about how the game is played over here. It's much different than back home. Back home it's much bigger ice and they take shots from different angles and they don't like to shoot the puck as much. Here they throw the puck at the net from everywhere so you have to be ready all the time.

"I had been working with Francois before I came over here and I tried to play that kind of game back home. I was a butterfly goalie who tried to play shots percentage-wise back home, too. That's what we try to do here. We try to keep things simple, but it's not always as easy as it sounds. Keeping it simple means reading the play and trying always to be in position all the time. With more games and more practices that is something that will be better with time."

Allaire believes in his system and also believes Reimer and Gustavsson will ultimately succeed.

"We have two young kids in the net that don't have a lot of experience," Allaire said. "So sometimes you are going to hit bumps in the road. The guys are working extremely hard. Jonas today came back and just worked really hard. He's a guy who never gets discouraged. I think that's a good sign. He's a guy who wants to keep going. We have two guys who are both playing over .500 and both have save percentages over .900 and we're still in the playoffs.

"We have the youngest goaltending tandem in the league. We don't have more than 150 games played experience (actually 160). The guys are responding pretty well. I don't have an issue with how hard they try and how hard they work. It's not always easy for a kid who doesn't have a lot of experience in the league to say, 'Okay, I have to go for three or four good games in a row.' Sometimes there are some gaps in the game…or in the week…or in the month, but that's part of the process to get better."

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.