Boo-nier

I'll admit that I'm a fan of Jonathan Bernier. I think the kid has some exceptional battle in him, especially playing in Toronto. He's a solid goalie playing on a less-than-stellar team, but even he's human. The image to the left is one that is all too familiar this season as we normally see Bernier hanging his head after the red light has been lit behind him. Last night, his humanity was on display as he allowed one of the worst goals this season and, perhaps, one of the worst of his career. It will probably rank as the longest goal he's ever given up.

With the Leafs leading 1-0 to open the third period against the Arizona Coyotes, there was a glimmer of hope that the long losing streak that Leafs have been mired in would end. And then this happened.

That may have been the easiest goal that Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored in his career. 114 feet of space was between Ekman-Larsson and Bernier, and the game was tied five seconds later. Hang your head, Jonathan, because that one hurts.

"I didn't see it," Bernier told reporters. "I lost it in the stands and it just dipped in front of me. It's tough to stay in, especially when I thought I was playing pretty good and the fans get on you. It gets frustrating."

I will say that Bernier experienced, according to his comments, something that happens when I play outdoors. Because it's dark when we play night games, occasionally our goaltender loses sight of the puck if it rises above the white boards. I can empathize with Bernier on this one, but it still hurts. Especially when you consider that he gave up another soft goal minutes later.

I feel bad immortalizing this goal with this post, but the truth of the matter remains that Bernier has to be at his best to give the Leafs a shot at winning. He wasn't last night, and the Leafs dropped a 3-1 result to the Coyotes. Will the losing ever end?

Maybe the better question is when does the season end?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!