Will the Ducks call on Bernier in Game 3?
Trouble in the crease in Anaheim. This is a recording.
Ducks goalie John Gibson hasn't been tip-top in the second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers. On Friday, he allowed two goals on 23 shots, which was only slightly better than his Game 1 performance, when he let in four on 31.
Meanwhile, Oilers netminder Cam Talbot stole the show at the other end of the ice, stopping all but one of the 40 shots Anaheim fired at the Edmonton cage Friday.
As the series shifts to Edmonton with the favored Ducks down 2-0 and having lost home-ice advantage, could Ducks coach Randy Carlyle call for a change between the pipes?
Goaltender question marks during playoff time isn't uncharted waters for the Ducks. Former Anaheim bench boss Bruce Boudreau regularly shuffled his deck of Gibson, Frederik Andersen, and Jonas Hiller, among others, in search of the right answer.
Nor would a goaltending swap be a first for the Ducks this postseason. After Gibson allowed four goals on just 16 shots in Game 3 of the team's first-round matchup against the Calgary Flames, Jonathan Bernier entered in relief. He turned aside all 16 shots that came his way as the Ducks stormed back from a 4-1 deficit for an impressive 5-4 overtime win. The victory gave them a 3-0 stranglehold on the series before they swept the Flames two nights later.
It was more of the same from Bernier, who has rediscovered his game in his first season in Anaheim. The 28-year-old came up clutch earlier this year, holding down the top job with Gibson injured. He put up an 11-3-2 record and a .931 save rate in the Ducks starter's absence.
While Carlyle didn't confirm any future lineup changes following the Game 2 loss, he was in a more joyful mood prior to the contest.
"One time I said (my goalie) was 'just okay' and it got me in a lot of crap," Carlyle quipped to Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register.
With Game 3 coming Sunday in Edmonton, we'll know sooner than later if the Ducks will call for a change in their crease.