NHL goaltenders have had themselves a week.
Pucks have been going in like we're back in the 1980s, and Saturday saw multiple goalies get yanked, some leave due to injury, and a couple make saves that can only be described as "bananas." Here's a rundown on an eventful Saturday night for the keepers, with the bad news first:
- In Calgary, Chad Johnson played only 5:58 for the Flames in another installment of the Battle of Alberta. He left down 3-0, stopping only one of the four shots he faced. Yikes.
- More trouble for the last-place Tampa Bay Lightning, after Ben Bishop was pulled after 40 minutes in Arizona. The Coyotes roughed him up, scoring five times on only 17 shots.
- In Philly, Michal Neuvirth was pulled after two periods with an undisclosed injury for precautionary reasons. The Flyers lost again, 4-1, coming out of their bye week with a dud.
- In Anaheim, Ducks starter John Gibson was forced from the game after 14 minutes of play in the first period with an upper-body injury. Jonathan Bernier came in and allowed four goals on 16 shots as the Ducks blew a third-period lead and lost to Minnesota.
- The Blues' Pheonix Copley got things started Saturday afternoon, allowing five goals on 29 shots in an emergency spot start for St. Louis.
Wait ...
It wasn't all bad. Really.
- Mike Condon shined for the Ottawa Senators in a come-from-behind win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He stopped 31 of 33 shots and two of three in the shootout.
- Robin Lehner and Carey Price made 36 and 35 saves respectively in Buffalo's 3-2 win over Montreal, and both goalies made incredible glove saves in overtime. Here's Lehner's, and here's Price's.
- Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves in Columbus' 3-2 win over Carolina. Bob has 28 wins before the All-Star break, and his career high in a season is 32.
- Jean-Francois Berube earned his first win of the season, coming up big for Doug Weight's New York Islanders in a 4-2 win over a strong Los Angeles Kings team. Berube went into the game with a .904 save percentage, and stopped 34 of 36 shots.
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