by Adam GretzFiled under: Penguins, Senators, NHL Playoffs
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and facing elimination on Thursday night in Pittsburgh, the Ottawa Senators have decided to put their team, and their season, in the hands of goalie Pascal Leclaire, according to the Ottawa Citizen.
Leclaire came on in relief of starter Brian Elliott on Tuesday night, giving up three goals in a period-and-a-half during Ottawa's 7-4 loss.
Over the first four games of the series, Elliott has struggled mightily, surrendering 14 goals, and looked extremely shaky against even the most routine shots. He clearly hasn't played well. Still, it's a bit of a surprise to see coach Cory Clouston turn to Leclaire in what is an absolute must-win game for his team. Especially when you consider that the Senators have won just once in his past 10 starts, while the 27-year-old been pulled three times. His full season save percentage of .887 placed him 43rd out of the 44 eligible netminders in the league, finishing ahead of only Vesa Toskala.
Basically: for as bad as Elliott has played in the series, there's a reason he entered the postseason as the starter.
No comments:
Post a Comment