TORONTO -- Isn't it sweet when a summer plan comes together as originally drawn up?
When the Maple Leafs acquired Jonathan Bernier in June, it was with the hope that the competition with James Reimer would give Toronto the kind of one-two punch in net it hasn't had in years.
The NHL statistics Thursday morning listed Reimer sitting fourth among goalies with a .942 save percentage, Bernier just behind at .939, good for sixth overall.
Not bad.
"This is how we had envisioned it, that both guys would fight for the net, that they would get along, they'd be good teammates, they'd push themselves to different levels. So far, that's all occurred," Leafs GM Dave Nonis told ESPN.com on Thursday morning. "So we've been fortunate."
To have that kind of goaltending on a team that ranks 30th in shots against per game (35.9 per game), well, it tells you where the Leafs would be if not for the stellar netminding they've gotten.
"They both instill confidence in the whole team," Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk said Thursday after the morning skate. "There have been games where we have been pretty badly outshot, and they've kept us in it until we got our game going. They've bailed us out quite a few times this year."
But just as important is that what had been billed as a potential goalie controversy before the season really hasn't played out that way in terms of any noticeable tension. It's been a battle without incident.
"They've been pushing each other," said van Riemsdyk. "You can take a relationship like that and it can go two ways. Sometimes it can be bitter, or you can work with it and go from there, and I think they've done a great job of supporting each other, and when their number has been called, they've gone in and done a really amazing job for us."
