Skip to main content

Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier leaves game vs. Kings with lower-body injury

Jonathan Bernier has set career highs in games played (50) and wins (25) this season. (John Cordes/Icon SMI)

Jonathan Bernier has set career highs in games played (50) and wins (25) this season. (John Cordes/Icon SMI)

By Nick Stoico

After stopping 8-of-10 shots in 19:38 of play on Thursday night, Toronto goalie Jonathan Bernier mysteriously left the team's game against the Los Angeles Kings with what the Maple Leafs would later describe as a 'lower-body injury,' adding that he would not return. Bernier was replaced in net by James Reimer.

Bernier, acquired from Los Angeles in a trade last June, has been the number one goalie for the Maple Leafs this season -- Thursday night marked his 50th game in their net, and he's posted a .926 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average. Should he be sidelined for an extended period of time, Reimer has proved to be a capable NHL goalie during his career, going 63-40-15 in 130 games, all with Toronto.

The Leafs, who are in the midst of the Eastern Conference playoff race, have to hope that Reimer can stay healthy. That's been a challenge for him, and he caused panic in Toronto after taking a skate to the head while trying to play the puck: