TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t just fall to the Carolina Hurricanes but also lost goaltender James Reimer, who left the game with an undisclosed injury in a 3-2 loss.
Jonathan Bernier was sent in for Reimer just 32 seconds into Thursday’s game against Carolina following a collision between Reimer and teammate Josh Leivo that looked an awful lot like the one that sidelined him for about six weeks during the 2011-12 season.
Reimer slid out of the crease to freeze the puck when a backchecking Leivo inadvertently caught him with a knee to the head. The Leafs goalie stayed down for quite some time before skating off the ice under his own power.
After the game, Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle updated the status on Reimer.
Toronto played the rest of the game without a backup goalie on the bench. NHL rules would only permit the team to use an amateur player so that precluded them from bringing in Marlies netminder Drew MacIntyre, who was on his way to Rochester with the American Hockey League team when Reimer went down.
Two seasons ago, Reimer struggled with head and neck issues throughout the year. A collision with Montreal Canadiens captain Brian Gionta in the sixth game of the season brought on concussion-like symptoms, which later returned after he took a shot in practice. However, Reimer later told reporters that his health issues were brought on by a neck injury rather than an actual concussion.
