The only thing wider than the shot-total margin of Monday’s Leafs-Devils game was the grin on winning goaltender James Reimer.
While the Maple Leafs gave the Toronto faithful little to get excited about for the bulk of Monday’s 2-0 victory over New Jersey, the fans gushed over the 32-save performance of a netminder whom many thought would lose his starting job at some point this season to a positional “upgrade” via a trade for a veteran Western Conference goalie.
But after Reimer backstopped a club that mustered a paltry six shots through the game’s first 45 minutes and seemingly lost every puck battle presented to them Monday, not a soul in the Air Canada Centre was thinking about the trade trigger GM Dave Nonis did not pull.
They were too busy standing on their feet and cheering their CLARK jerseys off.
Unlike recent springs, Leafs Nation did not boo when the home team failed to get rubber in the general direction of Martin Brodeur; instead, as the saves mounted — including the larcenous highlight that foiled Patrick Elias — the throng rallied around Reimer’s singular performance, giving the man three standing ovations in the third period.
The final shot tally ended 32-13 in favour of the Devils. With his third shutout, Reimer improved his sparkling record to 17-5-5. His .925 save percentage is the sixth-best in the league.
“If he plays like that every game, I don’t know why they’re looking to get another goalie in here,” Brodeur, who is enduring a career-worst 10-game winless streak, said of Reimer. “He was unbelievable. I think his poise in the net, his rebound control, he stays in his net and plays within himself — he looked really good, really confident.
To add a little icing on top, Reimer was also credited with his first assist of the year on Jay McClement’s empty-netter that sealed the victory.
Watch: James Reimer’s postgame interviews